The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) has stepped up its war on sanctions evasion in the past year, taking over 100 vessels off the Panama Ship Registry following an investigation undertaken in tandem with maritime intelligence specialist Pole Star Global. The operation is designed to ensure immediate compliance with international sanctions requirements and to bolster the country’s position as a responsible flag state.

This comes as the global shipping industry faces rising geopolitical tensions and ever more stringent compliance requirements. In this context, the AMP has implemented a fast-track procedure for the removal of vessels listed on sanctions lists, overcoming the delays associated with the traditional de-flagging processes.

In support of this new mechanism, the Panama authority has engaged Pole Star Global to provide independent assessments and vessel activity verification. The partnership is designed to facilitate faster, more transparent and internationally coordinated enforcement measures.

Panama’s move demonstrates its determination to tighten control over its maritime register and adopt a zero-tolerance policy on attempts to circumvent sanctions.

“Panama as a responsible flag state decided to establish a mechanism to identify the sanctions list to de-flag those ships through an accelerated process,” said the deputy general director of Merchant Marine of the AMP, who is responsible for the Ship Registry.

As part of the operation, Pole Star Global analysts worked with the AMP to conduct a detailed examination of vessels flying the Panamanian flag. The investigation was based on integrated maritime intelligence capabilities, including domain awareness, automated sanctions screening and cross-referencing against multiple databases.

The analysis identified a number of indicators of potential sanctions violations and suspicious maritime activity. These included links to sanctioned jurisdictions or entities, manipulation of vessel identity, extended periods of Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal loss, deliberate signal spoofing in embargoed areas and repeated changes of flag, commonly referred to as “flag hopping”.

“Using intelligence from Pole Star Global, the AMP was able to identify, document and remove over 100 vessels from its register in an expedited timeframe, ensuring immediate sanctions compliance.

“This operation is very important for Panama’s maritime oversight,” said Dirk Macre, Commercial Director for LATAM and the Caribbean at Pole Star Global.

Through proactive oversight and Pole Star Global’s advanced investigative capabilities, the Panama Maritime Authority was able to identify, document and remove high-risk vessels at an unprecedented rate. “This decisive clean-up reinforced Panama's role as a responsible flag state and showed zero tolerance for sanctions evasion,” he said.