Panama, one of the prominent global flags that has been recognized as the largest ship registry for the past three decades, has now fallen to third place in the global ranking. Recent data from research published on September 1 shows that the Marshall Islands fleet, with 212.7 million tons, has surpassed Panama, which stands at 196 million tons. Liberia is also at the top of this ranking with 317.4 million tons.
Severe Decline in Panama's Fleet Diversity
Although Panama still leads in the number of vessels with 7,516 ships, ahead of the Marshall Islands and Liberia, its fleet diversity and volume have significantly declined. Clarkson's data shows that Panama's fleet volume has decreased by 15% this year, reaching 196 million tons, while Liberia and the Marshall Islands fleets have grown by 8.7% respectively.
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Reasons for Rank Decline and Sanctions
The decline in Panama's rank is due to the country's efforts to clean up its ship registry and prevent the entry of sanctioned and shadow fleet vessels. Last year, Panama's maritime authorities halted the registration of ships and vessels over 15 years old to distance themselves from the sanctioned fleet. These policy changes have directly impacted the attraction of ship owners.
Additionally, this year, with increased scrutiny from the Chinese over Panama-flagged ships, ship owners are seeking to change their flags to Liberia and the Marshall Islands. These changes have arisen due to the removal of operators associated with CK Hutchison from two ports in the Panama Canal, leading Chinese leasing companies to now require some owners to change their flags from Panama when arranging taxes for new buildings.
Finally, the average age of Panama's fleet has reached 19.5 years, which is significantly higher than other prominent flags. For example, Liberia has an average age of 12.6 years, the Marshall Islands 12 years, Singapore 11.3 years, and Hong Kong 14.9 years follow in the rankings.
Other changes are also observed in the global ship fleet ranking. Singapore is in fourth place with 141.1 million tons, while Hong Kong is in fifth place with 111.6 million tons. These two countries exchanged their positions last year.
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