With a total of 8,094 vessels, Panama is emerging as the country with the largest registry of ships in the world, a figure that made it worthy of a Guinness Record.
Official figures revealed that, in 2016, the Isthmian nation brought together about 18 percent of the world fleet, followed by Liberia, the Marshall Islands, China Hong Kong and Singapore, which together account for 57.8 percent of the total quota of the market, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Last October, the Maritime Authority of Panama opened three new offices in London, Manila, and Dubai for the international registry of ships, with the aim of diversifying the maritime business and reinforcing its presence in Europe and Asia.
With the opening of so-called Segumar technical offices, in destinations considered strategic, the country also ventured into profitable and non-traditional emerging markets, such as gas, cruise, and yacht vessels, the entity said.
The Panama Ship Registry network is composed of 60 private consulates of the merchant marine, where they provide vessel registration services, change of owner and tonnage, cancellations, among other commercial activities, for which it has more than 200 inspectors around the world.
In addition to having the largest merchant marine, the Central American nation is also one of the most important logistics platforms in the world, thanks to the inter-oceanic canal that connects more than 140 sea routes and 1,700 ports in 160 different countries, through which passes close to six percent of international trade.
The delivery of the Guinness World Records Certificate to Panama is part of the activities for the centenary of the foundation of the Panamanian merchant marine flag system.
Three years after the start of operations of the Panama Canal, on December 15, 1917, the International Ship Registry of Panama was created in order to meet the needs of the international maritime community by means of a flag without nationality restrictions, which offers residence to the owner of the vessel and the crew.
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Source: Prensa Latina
