The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Javier Martínez-Acha, revealed this Monday that Panamanian-flagged vessels intercepted by the United States in Caribbean waters did not comply with Panamanian maritime legislation or international norms. According to the chancellor, some irregularities were detected during the inspections, including the vessel's name change, inconsistencies in crew identification, and the deliberate disconnection of tracking systems during navigation. “All these variables are alerts that force us to make decisions so that our flag, as a merchant marine, is respected and complies with all the norms of our country and international maritime standards,” stated Martínez-Acha. Panama must ensure that “our flag is being used responsibly and we are acting in accordance with international maritime law,” he specified. The minister noted that vessels under the Panamanian flag “must comply with the norms of our country and international maritime legislation.” He added that the National Government is acting accordingly and is closely monitoring the incidents in order to make the most appropriate decisions based on the available information and any new data that may arise. On Saturday, December 20, the United States confiscated the tanker named Centuries in the Caribbean, which is under the Panamanian flag and belongs to a petroleum company based in China. It transports Venezuelan crude to Asian refineries and is not on the U.S. government's sanctions list. In this regard, the White House stated that it is a “flag-of-convenience vessel” that is part of Venezuela's “ghost fleet” to circumvent sanctions and transport crude used to finance the government of Caracas. Panama's ship registry is one of the largest in the world with over 8,800 vessels.
