After spending the last few years on the “Grey List,” the Panama Ship Registry has returned to the “White List” of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MoU). Panamanian authorities attribute this achievement to measures taken to improve safety and compliance with international standards for vessels sailing under the Panamanian flag.
According to sea-news.az citing Seanews.az, the new Paris MoU rating, which came into effect on July 1, is based on inspection and detention statistics covering the period from 2023 to 2025. During this period, ships flying the Panamanian flag underwent 57,312 inspections, 338 of which resulted in detentions. The detention rate stood at 5.9 percent, which is below the 7 percent threshold established for the “White List.”
The Panamanian administration stated that this result was achieved through the intensification of preventive inspections, stricter monitoring of vessels with a history of deficiencies, the improvement of flag state inspections, and the faster removal of vessels that fail to meet international requirements from the registry.
However, the Panamanian flag has also faced pressure in 2026 amidst political and commercial tensions with China. An increase in the detention of Panamanian-flagged vessels at Chinese ports has been noted.
