Panama Presents RISC Database to the United States of America

[By: Panama Ship Registry]

The Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Panama in Washington D.C., Mario Morales López, and the CEO of the Liberian Registry, Alfonso Castillero, launched the shared database of the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC).

This database was presented to the Office of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN) of the United States Department of State, represented by Gonzalo Suárez, Deputy Assistant Secretary of said office.

Panama is one of the founders of this compact alongside the Liberia and the Marshall Islands registries, which was signed on August 14, 2019. The RISC is a step forward in the execution of penalties against ships with behaviors contrary to the interests of the international maritime community.

Currently, the RISC comprises registries from Palau, Honduras, St. Kitts and Nevis, Comoros, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Dominica, Moldova and Belize, in addition to its three founding members.

The establishment of this database by the RISC member registries aims to deter “flag hopping” among vessels that have been involved in penalty evasion activities. In this international instrument it was agreed that when a flag registry initiates a process of sanctioning a ship, canceling a registry, or denies the registration of a vessel due to an unlawful behavior, said office will immediately notify the other members of the general information of that vessel. A description of the activity will also be included to share the identity of the vessels, companies or groups that implement these bad practices.

Since joining the RISC, Panama has reported over 135 vessels to the shared database. The Panamanian Registry, within its due diligence process, incorporates database checks to avoid flagging vessels linked to illicit activities or that have been suspected of violating sanctions, and that are undergoing cancellation processes within the other RISC member registries.