The Panama Ship Registry has secured 218 newbuildings so far this year as it reinforces its position as the biggest flag state.

Between January and August, Panama added new vessels totalling 6.6m gt, of which 61 ships were bulkers.

The registry now has 22% of the world's dry cargo vessels on its books. This is a total of 2,725 ships of 112.1m gt.

Panama has also registered the 24 largest containerships in the world, totalling 5.5m gt.

These include South Korean owner HMM's 23,964-teu megamax boxships.

In the cruiseship sector, the Panama Ship Registry said it is among the three flags most chosen by shipowners, with 42 vessels representing 3.4m gt.

White-list performance

The performance of the Panamanian fleet at the end of July remained at 96.68% compliance with port state control requirements, the registry said.

The country is on the white lists of both the Paris and Tokyo memoranda of understanding on port state control.

Panama has also been part of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) for more than a year, "reaffirming its commitment to be a transparent and responsible registry with international compliance", the flag state said.

"Despite the pandemic caused by Covid-19, the Panamanian Registry is the most favourable option for shipowners thanks to the country's legal security, the 24/7 attention and human resources' level of professionalism and effort," the registry added.

Chinese trouble

Panama has been the world's biggest flag since 1993.

Its ship registry is popular among Chinese state-owned enterprises and private shipowners.

But in May, TradeWinds reported that China's customs authority had dropped the country from the list of flag states that enjoy privileged status and low port dues.

The privilege had been granted in 2018 after Panama shifted its diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing the previous year. A renewal had been expected as a matter of routine.

"In today's markets, where most owners no longer have to count every penny, I wouldn't expect many people to do much about it," one shipowner with Panama-flagged vessels, who was not willing to be identified, said at the time.