Panama has the largest maritime registry in the world. According to the December 2021 figures of the Panama Maritime Authority, eight thousand six hundred fifty-three ships (8,653).

Panama remains at the top of the list, with the most registered gross tonnage. According to the December 2021 figures of IHS Global SAS and IHS Global LT, 227.32 million.

Panama is a Category A member of the IMO Council. Panama is also a party to the SOLAS, STCW and all major conventions regarding safety of life at sea, manning, and pollution prevention.

Paris MOU White List since 2011.

The General Directorate of Merchant Marine of the Panama Maritime Authority has the ISO 9001:2015 Certification by Lloyd’s Register Quality.

Panamanian registry allows seafarers to be of any nationality and this is one of the reasons for its success over the years, together with the fact that the owners of the vessels registered in Panama could also be of any nationality and for having reasonable registration costs.

Major worldwide shipping lines register their vessels in Panama.

Major worldwide banks accept Panama ship mortgages as collateral.

Technical support is granted via Segumar Office Panama 24 hours/ 7 days a week and through Segumar Offices Asia (Seoul and Tokyo) and Europe in local business hours.

A worldwide network of Panama consular offices with merchant marine powers is available to assist owners and lenders in their own venue, language and time zone.

LRIT (Long Range Identification and Tracking) for all the Panama flag cargo vessels with over 300 GT.

There is no age restriction for vessel registration. The only requirement is that vessels over 20 years of built be subject to a special seaworthiness inspection.

Earnings of vessel operations outside of Panama waters are not subject to income tax in Panama.