Panama Ship Registry Maintains 16 Percent Market Share with Growth in 2023

The Panama Ship Registry saw continued growth in 2023, maintaining its position as the largest registry by number of vessels with 8,540 ships at the end of the year. The registry also experienced a net increase of 83 ships and 7.2 million gross tons throughout the year. However, Panama faced competition from the Liberia flag registry, which surpassed Panama in total gross tonnage in mid-2023.

Despite the competition, Panama maintained a 16 percent market share and highlighted a 29 percent retention rate in 2023, an improvement from previous years. The administration also focused on modernizing the registry and improving the quality of the fleet to ensure compliance. This included canceling the registry of 161 vessels, with an average age of 17 years, and removing 78 fishing boats associated with unreported and unregulated fishing.

Since taking leadership in 2019, the administration has focused on growing the Panama registry, adding 33 million gross registry tons by the end of 2023. The registry’s growth rate was reported at 2.9 percent at the end of the year, reflecting its ongoing efforts to modernize and improve the quality of its fleet.

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