Consulate General of Panama 
At the end of the first semester of 2020, the Panamanian fleet has a 97% compliance percentage in relation to the Paris and Tokyo MOUs.
EFE.-Panama, which leads the world merchant fleet with 8,289 flagged vessels, remains on the "white list" on compliance with international merchant marine standards of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MOU), the Government reported this Wednesday Panamanian.
The Paris MOU is a body made up of the European bloc that inspects vessels before arriving at ports on that continent to verify that they have security measures in place, and its objective is to eliminate the operation of deficient vessels through a harmonized system. Control of the port State.
According to the annual report of the MOU Paris, Panama's vessels were inspected by the Port State, and authorities in foreign ports to verify and verify that they comply with the international standards established by the industry.
“This measurement included inspections and detentions of the flags from 2017-2019 with at least 30 inspections during that period,” it was stated in an official statement, which specified that Panama has remained on the white list of the MOU for 10 consecutive years .
Nine MOUs have been signed within the framework of port state supervision, including the Paris (Europe and North Atlantic) and Tokyo (Asia and Pacific) agreements.
Earlier this year, the 2019 Tokyo MOU Annual Report also confirmed that Panama maintains its seat on the white list of this memorandum of understanding, according to official information.
At the end of the first half of 2020, the Panamanian fleet has a 97% compliance percentage in relation to the Paris and Tokyo MOUs.
In this period, approximately 5,287 inspections were carried out on Panamanian vessels, 62% less compared to the same cycle in 2019; there is also a 46% decrease compared to last year in terms of number of arrests.
The most frequent causes of arrests of ships of the Panamanian fleet in European ports are due to deficiencies in firefighting equipment and devices, maintenance of the boat, structural parts and safety equipment, according to official information.
The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) pointed out that one of the factors that has influenced the decrease in detained ships is the effort of the personnel of its General Directorate of Merchant Marine (DGMM), in charge of the Register of ships, with "favorable actions and collaborating with the parties involved, providing the assistance and guidance required to maintain compliance with our fleet ”.
In the first six months of 2020 and, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Panama has flagged 469 new ships with 13.6 million registered tons (a growth of 0.7% million tons).
