Panama may deflag ships that disable AIS
Written by Nick Blenkey
The Panama Maritime Authority has issued a Merchant Marine Notice warning that Panamanian flag ships that deliberately deactivate their Long Range Identification and Tracking Equipment (LRIT) or Automatic Identification System (AIS) will face penalties. Those could range from $10,000 fines up to deregistration of the vessel.
The Panamanian notice comes within days of the U.S. issuing a guidance on illicit shipping and sanctions evasion practices that drew attention to the use of AIS disabling and “spoofing” by sanctions busters.
Panama is the world’s largest shipping registry, with a fleet totaling over 225 million grt and more than 9,000 vessels.
Read the Merchant Marine Notice HERE
Categories: News, Safety and Security
