The Panama Ship Registry (PSR) is going to “clean up” its fleet to meet international compliance requirements.
The world’s largest flag said the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) considers this of the utmost importance.
About 14,000 inspections take place each year on the fleet, “which represents a challenge to maintain compliance in the different regions”, the PSR said.
It is now working on an integrated review for the verification and control of the more than 8,500 vessels on its books.
“Being the world’s largest registry demands control, surveillance and compliance, but also efforts, sacrifices and real standards that help maintain the compliance expected by the industry,” the PRS said.
The purge is a process that began in 2021 but was postponed.
It will focus on ships with a compromised history and a record of detentions, and those that maintain low international compliance.
They will be “subject to a process of sanction and cancellation of their registration”, the PSR said.
“The vessels of advanced age and whose operating companies do not maintain best practices represent a potential risk, as they may suffer accidents and detentions …causing damage to the rest of the fleet, as well as to the prestige of the Panamanian flag,” it added.
The registry said tidying up the fleet is a key issue for the PMA.
Under Panamanian law, ships can be booted off the list if involved in acts affecting national interest, or in cases of serious non-compliance with legal regulations.
Forged or falsified documents will also see a vessel removed, as will smuggling, abandonment, double-flagging or a high rate of detentions.
The PMA’s database shows that the PSR has cancelled more than 6.5m grt of vessels since July 2021 for issues related to Iran and North Korea, or for being listed as sanctioned.
From July 2019 to the end of May this year, the registry has added more than 29.6m grt of ships to the fleet, according to Clarksons Research data.
