Panama targets Russia's shadow fleet with strict vessel registration ban
Photo: Panama tightens ship registration rules due to Russia's shadow fleet (Getty Images)
Panama is imposing strict restrictions on the registration of commercial vessels, targeting Russia's shadow fleet used to illegally transport Russian oil in circumvention of sanctions, according to Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service.
This month, the country will stop registering oil tankers older than 15 years.
This move has a significant impact on global maritime trade, as Panama is the second-largest registrar of commercial vessels in the world.
In addition to age restrictions, regular additional checks will be introduced every three months to monitor the compliance of tankers flying the Panamanian flag with certification requirements.
The new rules will directly affect a significant part of Russia's shadow fleet: the average age of tankers carrying Russian oil is 20-25 years, which means that many of them will not meet the new requirements.
Earlier, the Maritime Authority of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas announced plans to remove from the register ships owned by Russian companies or involved in trade with Russia and flying the Bahamian flag.
The Caribbean regulator stressed that any vessel flying the Bahamian flag that falls under the sanctions will be removed from the state register.
The sanctions have destroyed traditional supply routes to Kaliningrad. Maritime transport has increased, but logistics are collapsing.
After the sanctions were imposed in 2022, Russia significantly increased its spending on the transit of goods to the Kaliningrad region, an enclave with no land connection to the rest of the country.
