Interview: Ramon Franco, General Director, Panama Ship Registry

 

Born and raised in Panama, Franco comes from a family of lawyers – mainly maritime lawyers. After earning a degree in Law and Political Science in Panama, he went to Madrid for a Master's degree in Maritime Law and Business. He then returned to Panama and joined the law firm founded by his grandfather. "I was destined to be a lawyer even before I was born, maybe," he quips, "because of my background."

Franco soon distinguished himself in the private sector and was named to the technical panel established by the Panama Maritime Authority for the reform of the General Merchant Marine Law of 2008. He was further involved in the development of the APADEMAR Maritime Society Project and in the preparation of the Executive Decree that organizes and regulates the operations of the General Directorate of the Public Registry of Ship Ownership. He also served on the Organizing Committee of the Panama Maritime Conference and Exhibition.

In recognition of his achievements, he was elected President of the Panamanian Maritime Law Association (APADEMAR) for two consecutive terms (2022-23 & 2023-24). On July 1, 2024, the newly elected President of Panama, José Mulino, appointed him General Director of the Merchant Marine of the Panama Maritime Authority, the entity responsible for the Panama Ship Registry, the world's largest with approximately 15% of the global fleet.

After a year on the job, Franco says he's "living his dream." He's also remaking the registry into not just the biggest but also the best by purging substandard vessels, transforming the organization and reinforcing compliance.

WELCOME, RAMÓN, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. WE'RE HONORED TO HAVE YOU ON OUR COVER. LET'S START WITH THE PANAMA MARITIME AUTHORITY AND HOW IT'S ORGANIZED.

Yes, thank you. The Panama Maritime Authority is the government entity in charge of supervising the maritime sector in Panama. There are four different Directorates – Ports, Seafarers, Public Registry and Merchant Marine. Merchant Marine is the one I head, and it's basically the Panama Ship Registry. In this sense, the Director General of the Merchant Marine is the head of the Panama Ship Registry.

IS IT DIFFERENT FROM THE PANAMA CANAL AUTHORITY?

Yes. Completely different and separate. We are both Panamanian government entities, and we share the same goals of promoting the development of the maritime industry, encouraging investment and innovation in the sector and strengthening Panama's position as a global logistics hub. But we are both physically and organizationally separate.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE REGISTRY.

Yes. The Panama Maritime Authority through the General Director of Merchant Marine operates and manages the Panama Ship Registry, which has two main components. One is the regulatory or compliance component through which the registry complies with IMO regulations – SOLAS, pollution prevention, environmental restrictions and so forth. The other is the commercial component through which we offer incentives to attract shipowners to the Panamanian flag.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INCENTIVES? WHY CHOOSE THE PANAMANIAN FLAG?

Well, the question actually is, "Why NOT choose Panama?" At the Panama registry, you have a whole state supporting your vessel and the registry, not a company or an authority. The registry of a vessel and registration of the vessel's mortgage or financing is backed by the Republic of Panama. That makes the registration strong and secure because you have the whole infrastructure of a country behind that registry.

Another big advantage is our wide international consular network. We have 53 consulates, which are basically commercial offices around the world. We have 22 technical offices providing services to shipowning companies and vessels worldwide on a 24/7 basis as well as a network of highly trained maritime lawyers. We have a network of a inspectors worldwide and are signatories of the main IMO conventions. So that makes our quality standards very high. In addition, we provide specialized incentive programs for individual companies' needs. It's personalized attention, and it gives our clients access to an international service catalog that Panama can offer not only for the ship but the company as well. If the company wants to establish in Panama or have a branch in Panama, it gives access to the whole international service platform that Panama as a Republic has to offer.

Impressive. Can you give us a little history of the Registry, how it evolved over the years?

Certainly. It didn't start as we know it today, and it started over 100 years ago in 1917 as the International Ship Registry of Panama. Then in 1925 the Panamanian Merchant Marine was created as an open registry without restrictions as to the nationality or residency of vessel owners. And it operated until 1980, when it came under the department of Consular and Maritime Affairs.

Then, because of the importance of the registry to the Panamanian and world economies – and because it had become the number one registry in the world by 1993 – it was elevated to a ministry. That was in 1998 when it became part of the Panama Maritime Authority, which also houses the three other Directorates mentioned earlier.

In 2008, the first official General Merchant Marine Law was issued, and that's a little bit of the history of the registry.

EXCELLENT! WHAT'S THE FOCUS OF THE REGISTRY TODAY?

We're focused on three different areas.

One is the organizational transformation. We made adjustments in some departments to bring them more in line with their functions. We've given more responsibilities to our international service officers. We are in the process of making some changes.

We're improving the customer experience, making it easier and more transparent – 24/7 access, online applications and forms, more electronic books. We're in the process of reforming the Merchant Marine Law of 2008 in order to be more effective and simplify processes, and we're consulting with major industry players in doing so. We also have a very aggressive strategy for getting into new markets and attracting new tonnage.

The third area is purging sanctioned vessels and maintaining a reliable and safe fleet. Basically, we're strengthening our quality management system. We're deleting vessels that are substandard or sanctioned. We're improving our fleet performance.

GREAT. IS THE REGISTRY ON THE WHITE LIST OF THE PARIS AND TOKYO MOUs?

We are on the White List of the Tokyo MOU but not the Paris MOU. We are on the Gray List there. But we're determined to get back on the Paris White List and that is one of my primary goals. We have a very high global compliance level of over 95 percent and, as noted earlier, we are busy purging the fleet of unwanted, underperforming vessels. We have a strategy in place to return to the Paris White List, and you will see us there soon.

THAT MUST BE A REAL CHALLENGE – MAINTAINING QUALITY STANDARDS WHEN YOU'RE THE BIGGEST REGISTRY IN THE WORLD.

Well, it is. But with a new administration in the Republic of Panama under President José Mulino, we have a special moment in time, an opportunity to change the emphasis.

Under this new administration, the vision that we have for the registry is to focus on the quality more than on the quantity that we are flagging. We're focusing on compliance with international regulations and on strengthening our operational and safety procedures.

For medium and high-risk vessels that are registered in the Panamanian merchant marine fleet, we are requiring additional inspections, additional surveys and additional verification of the ship's management systems. We give them six months to get their compliance level up to an acceptable level. Otherwise, they have to change flags.

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AS GENERAL DIRECTOR?

I have a very broad range of functions overseeing the technical, legal, commercial, compliance and promotional areas. So I do a little bit of everything – kind of like a handyman. But of course I have a great team here in the Directorate of Merchant Marine to work with, so I must be a team player who knows how to work with his team.

For me, the main asset of the Panama Registry is the human talent we have here, and the first rule of leadership is that I do not ask them to do anything that I myself am not willing to do. So we have to take it up a notch and go the extra mile. I have to be the first one in and the last one out. Leadership is very important, but teamwork is crucial.

IS WORKING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR DIFFERENT FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR?

Yes! To come from the private sector to a public office is a whole different ball game. It's like you're playing soccer and now you're playing basketball because things are different. But we try to complement each other. I bring a private sector mentality and learn from the public sector way of thinking and doing things, and that makes for a very good complementary relationship.

I'm fortunate to have a very talented and professional team here at the Registry, and that is key. I've worked in the private sector on maritime authority cases for more than 20 years now, and to have the opportunity to work with staff in the Panama Maritime Authority that have been working the same or more years than me is very fulfilling.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB?

You never get bored. There's always something new happening – a new situation or a new challenge. So it's very rewarding to come here every day to work with my team. I'm also very thankful to the President for appointing me and giving me the opportunity to work for my country and my industry – to give back to those who have given me so much.

My father did it before me, and my grandfather before that. So you can say I was born into the shipping legal world and now have the opportunity to give back. For a maritime lawyer who grew up in Panama, the opportunity to be in charge of the number-one ship registry in the world is a dream come true. I am, literally, living my dream.