Panama closes its registry to tankers and bulkers over 15 years old

Panama's ship registry will reject new registrations of oil tankers and bulk carriers older than 15 years, gCaptain reports, citing the Panama Maritime Authority. The authority says the aim is to keep out so-called ghost or shadow fleet vessels with unclear ownership and unsafe practices, noting that 71% of detentions of Panamanian ships from 2023 to mid-2025 involved bulkers, general cargo ships and tankers of that age. The update also brings mandatory quarterly inspections for problem vessels and checks of safety management systems before registration.

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