Panama flag acts tough in wake of OFAC sanctions

The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) has vowed to cancel the registration of any vessel found to be involved in illegal activities or that changes its flag to evade sanctions. This clarification comes in response to the recent inclusion of seven Panamanian-flagged vessels on the US’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list.

The monitoring and control section at the world’s second largest flag has been transferred to a protection department while a Panama flag pre-check process has just been published, a circular that establishes prerequisites for flagging and allows for due diligence on the ship, the owner, and its operator.

Panama has also signed the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) agreement to prevent a ship from moving from one registry to another to commit illegal activities or evade imposed sanctions.

The PMA’s General Directorate of Merchant Marine is evaluating additional measures that would allow the swift removal of vessels with proven links to activities that go against national interests, international instruments, or the shipping industry in general.