The case of the Oceanic Tug has once again raised alarms, and this time it's not for good reasons. Since September 2025, when the vessel—linked to Pablo Torres according to maritime records—returned to Panama to request a license from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) to enter the fuel supply business. On Panadata, the business platform, Torres appears as an active member of Dolphin Tugs, and in the AMP's official list of valid licenses (updated as of October 30, 2025), he is listed as the legal representative of Dolphin Tugs Inc. All this revives the questioning that had already been coming from the previous government, when under Noriel Araúz's administration at the AMP, there was talk of the closeness that supposedly allowed Torres to move like a fish in water in several maritime sector businesses, especially in the lucrative fuel supply business. Today, the Oceanic Tug is not only in the records but also in the eye of the hurricane… and not precisely for sailing well. The response was a blunt no: the ship did not meet the standards and did not have the capacity required by the AMP. After that refusal, as explained by Luis Roquebert, the institution's administrator, the ship was left adrift for a while in Amador, without a course or business. Until two days ago, when authorities caught it loaded with cocaine in an operation that finally put the Oceanic Tug's name under all the spotlights. Pablo Torres, for his part, insists that he sold that ship in 2023 and has nothing to do with that vessel anymore. He says that what appears in maritime websites is 'outdated'. But the reality is different: for more than two years, those records have maintained the active link. The situation became international when the EFE agency republished what was reported by Panamanian media and dropped this line that caused a stir: 'The tug-type vessel where the stash was found, named Oceanic Tug, is the property of the company Dolphin Tugs, which belongs to Pablo Torres, a board member of the Panama Maritime Chamber'. And not just EFE.
