Tag: Panama Maritime Authority

The Panama Canal achieved a new record on December 10, as the 5,000th neopanamax ship transited the canal. Namely, ‘COSCO Faith’, a 366 meters long container ship, transited the canal in a southerly direction from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

France, Portugal, Spain and Germany agreed to take in migrants from the Mediterranean rescue ship Aquarius sailing off the coast of Malta, France said, after Italy refused to let the vessel dock. According to Malta, a patrol boat will transfer the migrants in international waters and then to the island, from where they will be sent to the four other European Union states.

Panama Maritime Authority revoked the registration of the 'Aquarius 2', the one remaining charity rescue vessel still operating in the Central Mediterranean, which means that there will be no charity rescue ships off the Libyan coast in the near future, unless the vessel can find a new flag to sail under.

The Emergency Escape Breathing Devices are part of the critical safety equipment and are used for escape from a compartment that has a hazardous atmosphere. Their use has become mandatory under the new amendments to SOLAS 74 (Chapter II-2, Reg 16) for all ships to which the safety equipment certificate is required.

Panama Canal will try to promote the use of the Panamax locks for soy and corn grain transits originating in northern Brazil and traveling to markets in Asia. These shipments typically transit on Panamax vessels given the similarity between the drafts in the Amazon River ports and the Panamax locks.

The Panama Maritime Authority informed that ships that assist North Korea will be captured and processed. It also said that North Korea is evading the sanction measures imposed by the United Nations Security Council using a variety of deceptive practices.

Panama made it into the Guinness World Record, as it became the country with the largest registry of ships in the world, owning a total of 8,094 vessels. According to official figures, Panama has about 18% of the world fleet, with Liberia, Marshall Islands, Hong Kong and Singapore following.

The Panama Maritime Authority issued a notice last month to warn that vessels cannot enter the Ports of Famagusta, Karavostasi and Kyrenia, as per order by the Republic of Cyprus. The country has taken restrictions in order to uphold and maintain its sovereignty.

The Panama Maritime Authority has issued a circular to inform about updates on the instructions and procedures of the Ship Security Alert System according to SOLAS 74, as amended, highlighting that all the Panamanian flagged vessels shall be provided with a SSAS capable of transmit a security alert to a designated, competent authority when activated in an emergency situation.

The Panama Maritime Authority held a ceremony, on 18 October, for the construction of the new Amador Cruise Port, generating a new destination for cruises on the Pacific side of the country. The design and construction of the Amador cruise terminal, at Perico Island, was awarded to the consortium Cruceros del Pacifico.