The renewal of the Panama merchant fleet is one of the quality objectives of the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA), which is why the entry of vessels under 15 years of age to the Panama Ship Registry is being prioritized. As a result, 57% of ships registered in 2024 have an average age of four years. These vessels come mainly from the Asian market, a region in which the Panamanian Registry has technical offices (Japan, Singapore, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and the Philippines).

Among the strategies to improve the PMA indicators is also the recruitment of newly built vessels.  The latest figures reveal indicators of 105% in compliance with this goal, meaning that Panama has exceeded its own expectations at the end of the first week of July 2024.

The fleet debugging process is also part of the PMA’s plan to continue positioning itself worldwide.  This consists of ensuring that the vessels of the Panama Ship Registry comply with current international regulations, which is why this year more than 5 million tons of gross registration has been canceled ex officio.

The PMA, through the General Directorate of Merchant Marine, carried out 771 new flag registries this year, which translates into 16.8 million gross tonnages (GT). 

The Panama Ship Registry has 8,606 vessels, which represent more than 247.7 million of GT, according to IHS Markit international platform. In addition, Panama accounts for 15% of the world’s tonnage, as seen in the “World Fleet Monitor” report, published at the end of June 2024 by Clarkson Research.