Panama Ship Registry Returns to Paris MoU “White List”
Officials in Panama are highlighting the successful return of its ship registry to the Paris MoU White List after having been on the Grey List for the past several years. They are highlighting it as a confirmation of their efforts to maintain the highest standards for Panama-registered vessels.
It is a critical development for the flag and registry, which is the largest by the number of ships. It has been under pressure from competitors and criticized for substandard vessels and harboring shadow fleet tankers. The administration has made a concerted effort with the support of the government to purge the registry and enhance its administration.
The annual listing setting the standards for flags is effective as of July 1 and is based on three years of data reviewed by the Paris MoU. Flag state performance is evaluated using a rolling three-year average based on inspections and detention conducted at ports within the organization.
Panama highlights that there were 5,7312 inspections of ships under its flag between 2023 and 2025. It reports the data shows a total of 338 detentions during that period, or a rate of 5.9 percent, well below the Paris MoU standard of 7 percent to be on the White List.
Ships on the White List are recognized for operating under the highest standards. It is also reflected in their inspection routines
The Panama authorities highlight a sustained strategy to strengthen safety standards, enhance compliance with international conventions, and reinforce oversight of the Panamanian merchant fleet. The return to the White list, they report, reflects a series of initiatives over the past several years to improve performance on inspections while also raising the overall quality of the registry.
Among the steps they highlight is a strengthening of its preventative inspection program and an introduction of more rigorous mechanisms to identify and monitor vessels with a history of deficiencies during inspections. It also adopted enhanced methodologies for flag state inspections.
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Other efforts included reinforcing a precheck process to ensure that only vessels meeting international standards are admitted to the Panama Ship Registry. It has also enhanced the removal process for violators and increased the number of flag cancellations.
The Panama flag, however, has been under pressure in 2026 due to the political and commercial disputes between Panama and China. China recently denied it was targeting ships with the Panama flag as a retaliation for Panama’s cancelling CK Hutchison’s operations in the port of Balboa and Cristobal. The number of Panamanian-flagged ships detained in China jumped dramatically, while China says this was due to the ships being involved in fishing boat accidents.