Panama ends flag access for aging tankers and bulkers amid shadow fleet concerns

Panama will no longer allow the registration of oil tankers and bulk carriers older than fifteen years under its flag to improve the performance of its fleet, minimize the risk of detentions and prevent the entry of vessels associated with the so-called ‘shadow’ or ‘dark’ fleet.

According to the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA), the measure was adopted following findings by the Directorate General of the Merchant Marine, which determined that 71% of detentions within the fleet between 2023 and the first half of 2025 involved bulkers, general cargo ships and oil tankers over 15 years old.

As officials from the PMA have noted, the Panamanian Ship Registry has, thus, also kick-started a set of extra mechanisms through Resolution 106-003-DGMM (January 2025), which mandates:

• Additional inspections to be conducted every three months by the recognized organization (RO) that issues the statutory certificates with a yearly and/or periodic scope for deficient vessels;
• Additional verification of the Ship’s Safety Management system (SMS certificate), with an initial scope and the option to increase its frequency if non-conformities that have an impact on SMS are identified.

As disclosed, as a