Panama, the Biggest Merchant Marine in the World
By Juan Carlos Martinez
Panama currently has the biggest merchant marine in the world, meaning that it is the country with the most ships registered under its flag. As such it is one of the maritime powers in the world and is qualified in Category A in the International Maritime Organization. This is due in part to "the professionalism, the quality of the fleet, the transparency of processes and service to clients of the Panama maritime industry as a whole."
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One of the components of a first tier maritime industry is the quality of the fleet. In this sense ship classifying societies play a significant role as they are authorized by the flag issuing state, in this case Panama, to inspect the ships applying for patents and provide certification that the ships are seaworthy and meet fleet standards. Panama is already home to several classifying societies and recently the China Classification Society (CCS), one of the 10 most recognized in the world, has chosen to set up shop in Panama as a springboard for leveraging its operations throughout the region. Classifying societies are privately held companies whose prime purpose is to develop and apply technical rules to the design, construction and evaluation of ships (and other marine installations). In many cases they are authorized by Flag States to inspect vessels applying for registration under the State's flag.
There are more than 50 classification societies in the world however only 13 are recognized by the European Union and only the 10 most famous societies belong to International Associations of Classifying Societies based in London. This is a coup for Panama's maritime industry as classifying societies are in a position to advise ship owners and builders as to what flag is best for their ships. A well recognized classification society can also help ensure that the Panama fleet keeps its vessel up to international standards and safety requirements through stringent inspections.
The Panama Maritime Authority the government entity in charge of overseeing the maritime industry in Panama is also upgrading its technology following the government's no paper files mandate. In an effort to cut down on paper files and to have easier and faster access to the files of the world's largest fleet, the Panama Maritime Authority is digitalizing 5.5 million documents. It is estimated that it will take eight months to complete this digitalization project. This is a long awaited project that is expected to exponentially increase the efficiency and the service the Panama Maritime Authority provides its clients.
Another way the Panama Maritime Authority is seeking to boost the overall service and efficiency of the entity is by training its personnel and bringing them up to international standards. Recently the Panama Maritime Authority completed a training seminar on the ISO 9001 rules for the personal staffing the People at Sea department within the entity.
The Panama Maritime Authority is seeking to consolidate its position as a maritime power and is taking the steps to implement the technology and train its personnel in order to maintain its spot as top Flag State for vessels.
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