Panama Moves to Revoke Registry from Three Tankers Sanctioned by U.S.
The Panama Maritime Authority is highlighting that it is moving quickly to expel three tankers that were sanctioned days ago by the United States in the ongoing efforts to pressure Iran. While saying that it regularly monitors its registry for violators, the authority is also saying it had already dealt with the vessels included in the recent UK sanctions package.
In the past, Panama has been criticized for harboring sanctions violators or being slow to react. The authority highlights that it must follow a prescribed procedure to notify vessels and revoke their registry while also saying it has increased its efforts and enacted new legislation to expedite the removal process. It cites a 2024 Executive Decree, which simplified the process and accelerated the time required to remove a ship from Panama’s rolls.
In the first six months after the Executive Decree was invoked, Panama reports a total of 107 sanctioned vessels were removed from its registry. Three more were in the process. As the largest registry by number of ships, Panama has historically noted the challenges of monitoring all the vessels under its flag. Currently, it has approximately 7,700 flag vessels representing more than 196 million gross registry tons.
The U.S. Treasury reported its latest efforts on October 8 as part of what it is calling Operation Economic Outcast. It said a total of 17 tankers were being listed as part of the efforts to further tighten the restrictions on the fleet of shadow tankers supporting Iran’s oil operations. The U.S. effort included vessels operating under a broad range of flags, including Comoros, Bahamas, Palau, Mongolia, Cameroon, Zanzibar, Sierra Leone, Vanuatu, Hong Kong, San Marino, Gambia, and notably three tankers registered in Panama.
Panamanian officials noted that they have already restricted the three vessels listed by the United States and, according to databases, one of the ships has already changed its flag. AMP officials said the full removal of the vessels is in process.
The product tanker Starway (46,000 dwt) is listed in the databases as having moved its flag in September to Barbados after sailing under the Panama flag for approximately two years. The ship is listed as being Chinese-managed and owned by a corporation registered in the Marshall Islands. The U.S. Treasury accused the vessel of having transported over three million barrels of Iranian naphtha since 2025.
Another product tanker, Mackrele (24,000 dwt), however, has been in the Panama registry for three years. The vessel, which was built in 2003, is managed from India while its ownership is listed as a corporation in the Marshall Islands. U.S. authorities reported the tanker has transported over 500,000 barrels of Iranian high-sulfur fuel oil since December 2025.
The third vessel is a smaller asphalt tanker, Bitu (6,600 dwt). Built in 2010, it has also been registered in Panama since 2024, and it is managed from the UAE. The U.S. reported that it transported over 170,000 barrels of Iranian bitumen/asphalt in 2026.
The flag states are working to crack down on the so-called practice of “flag hopping,” but it remains a challenge as the vessels pop up in different locations and with different names. Or, in the worst cases, they go into false-flag operations.
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As a case in point, the UK, on its recent sanctions list, added six tankers that it reported were registered in Panama. The AMP said that was outdated information, as all the vessels had already been removed from the Panama flag, but that databases might be slow in catching up. Two of the six tankers are showing flags in Barbados and Cameroon, while Equasis lists two of the vessels’ flags as “unknown” and two more as under a false flag, claiming they were registered in Cameroon.
UK officials highlight that they have listed more than 600 vessels, while the EU reports it has surpassed 670 tankers. US officials said they were taking action against remaining shadow fleet vessels that are continuing to evade U.S. sanctions by transporting Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals. TankerTrackers.com, however, quickly responded, saying it had identified another 173 Iran-linked tankers that the U.S. had yet to sanction.
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