Panama Ship Registry Records 6.9% Growth In 3 Years

The Panama Ship Registry grew 9.6% in tonnage terms since the current administration took over in July 2019, adding 20.4m Gross Tonnage (GT)

The registry recorded a total tonnage of 239.4m gt as of July 2022 with 8,587 vessels, according to IHS Markit data.

In 2022 alone, the Registry grew by 1.39% and 3.9m gt maintaining 27% retention in its fleet, according to the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) statistics, an improvement to the retention percentage of 10% at end-2021; there was a 9.3% decrease in cancellations by transfer over the same period.

Ever since the registry recorded negative growth of -2.7% in July 2019, according to Clarksons Research, the register established a series of performance indicators in its operational processes to measure the service efficiency and quality, and its productivity.

Almost a year later, in May 2020, the Registry started to show positive numbers, finishing the year with a 3.9% growth and an increase of 10.4m gt.

The goal of net growth in gross tonnage, has been 68%-met and the goal of gross growth in ships and gross growth in gt were met 100%.

The Panama Maritime Authority has initiated a series of meetings with the Panama Maritime Law Association (PMLA) for the revision and update of Law 57, one of the legal frameworks on which the administration of the Panamanian fleet is based.