With 8,650 registered ships, Panama leads the merchant fleet worldwide

With 8,650 vessels registered at the end of last December, a figure that represents 16% of the world fleet, Panama maintains the leadership in the registration of ships, according to the latest report from the World Fleet Monitor of the Clarksons Research database.

The number of registered ships represents 245 million Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) and according to the Panama Maritime Authority, the international market and the maritime industry continue to choose the Panama Ship Registry, because it provides guarantees to the shipowner and its fleet.

Likewise, it offers official assistance to its clients in terms of legal certainty, diplomatic and judicial support, which differentiates the Panamanian registry from the others, argues the government entity.

It adds that the Panamanian Registry has understood the role it is called upon to play, always seeking to improve in terms of its competitiveness, adaptability, and international compliance.

In fact, the canal nation has improved its retention, increasing to 31%, achieving a percentage growth of 3.4% in 2022, a year impacted by a world crisis that is reflected in fewer ship constructions in the primarily Panamanian markets, and without fail to mention the war between Russia and Ukraine, social and economic factors that directly affect this market.

For this 2023, the expectations of the Panamanian Registry are positive, one of the pillars being the modification of Law 57 of August 6, 2008 “General Merchant Marine”, which advances through a work table made up of various actors from the maritime sector, tending to collaborate together in the comprehensive review of the regulations related to the Registry of Ships of Panama, to increase its competitiveness.

The country, always according to the state entity, has prioritized international compliance, digitization along with platform improvements, reengineering, process modernization, and incentives, aimed at the use of new technologies and environmentally friendly fuels.

“All these actions have had a positive impact on the quality of our fleet, which from 2019 to date reflects a growth of 27.9 million GRT and the entry of 567 ships, according to data from IHS Markit, this in the middle of the purification process”, indicates the Panama Maritime Authority.

Note that this review, elevated to a country strategy, seeks to be based on clear, transparent legislation, with competitive rates and agility in the processes, in this way we will achieve sustainable growth of the activity.

With information from Bloomberg