World’s second-biggest registry to eject ships blacklisted by UK for carrying Russian oil

Panama says it will de-flag six ships blacklisted by the UK for hauling Russian oil.

The six are among 30 vessels named by the UK last week in its biggest package of measures against the shadow fleet so far.

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The registry did not name the ships but the UK list includes eight vessels flagged by Panama, according to the International Maritime Organization’s ship database, Equasis and S&P Global.

They include the 106,000-dwt Ksena (built 2003), which was sanctioned after it ignored challenges from UK authorities to supply details of its insurance as it passed through the English Channel while hauling 711,000 barrels of Urals crude.

The move marks a change of direction by Panama, one of the world’s largest flag states, and comes after its biggest rival, Liberia, cracked down on substandard shipping.

The UK said last week that both Panama and Cameroon were among flag states now committed to de-flagging vessels hit by UK sanctions.

Panama is accused of being slow to act, or failing to respond, when supplied with details of connections to the Iranian oil trade.

Campaign group United Against Nuclear Iran said in March that nearly 40% of tankers carrying Iranian crude operated under the Panamanian flag.

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The start of the removals of the six followed a new decree introduced in October in Panama. Any documents supplied for the ships would also be invalid, the Panama Maritime Authority said.

Ramon Franco, the new director general of merchant marine, said: “The state has a fundamental responsibility to protect the integrity of the Panamanian ship registry, ensuring it remains free from international sanctions and unlinked to vessels associated with such listings.

“Safeguarding the prestige of our flag is a top priority for this administration.”

The authority said since the decree it had cancelled the registration of three vessels and was processing eight more.

The eight ships on the UK’s new sanctions list and flagged by Panama include vessels owned and managed in China, Seychelles and Mauritius.

The Ksena is listed under the ownership of Alvido Chartering with its address given as that of the commercial and technical manager OST Shipmanagement, based in Moldova. OST did not respond to requests for comment last week.

The 113,553-dwt Suleyman I (built 2006) is owned and managed by Morong Shipping of Mauritius, with Indian technical managers.

The tanker was formerly linked to Gatik Ship Management, the Indian-based tanker operator that rapidly grew to become a major shadow fleet operator before disappearing just as quickly.

The 115,600-dwt Emily S (built 2006) belongs to the fleet of new Dalian, China-based tanker company Sunne Co, which began a buying spree the month after the invasion of Ukraine.

The 115,605-dwt Feng Shou (built 2009) is owned and managed by Algae Marine in the Seychelles.

The other Panama-flagged ships on the UK list last week are the 73,672-dwt Agnes (built 2007), owned and commercially managed by Atbara Maritime Corp of Seychelles; the 106,004-dwt Cepheus (built 2006), managed by China-based Munne; the 105,941-dwt Thea (built 2004), which has a Hong Kong-based owner and manager, and 106,162-dwt Neomi (built 2004) under the management of Eastern Euro Ship Management of India.

Eastern Euro Ship Management said in an email that the vessel had been transferred to other managers and currently had no contact with them.