Liberia replaces Panama as the world’s largest flag

Liberia replaces Panama as the world’s largest flag

Time Stamp: July 30, 2023 2:47 PM
Source Node: 2794476

Flag state selection by shipowners is becoming influenced to a great degree by geopolitical concerns. A sign of this change is Panama’s loss of the largest flag state title.

One of the factors is certainly Panama’s recent attempt to improve the quality of the shipping registered under its flag. The Panama Registry purged a large amount of substandard tonnage from its rolls. Much of this tonnage was ships engaged in dark or gray trade, skirting Ukraine War sanctions on Russia, making unsafe ship-to-ship transfers, and hiding locations from the AIS system.

This action is coupled with Panama’s alliance with the US Coast Guard standards for shipping safety. Ships registered in Panama will need to comply with the rather strict safety rules the US uses. These are signs that Panama wants to be considered a premier place to register a ship with no substandard tonnage.

I believe the shift to Liberia and other flag states is largely determined by geopolitics. The records reviewed here, compiled by Clarksons, show also that smaller states like Malta and Cyprus, which are right in the line of fire of the Ukraine War’s shipping, have also suffered.

It is really interesting that Germany has risen markedly in the rankings. Perhaps this reflects renewed interest in German shipping. Germany has been spending money on shipping recently, deepening the Rhine to reach Hamburg, and also aiding inland water routes to reduce truck traffic and save fuel for the tonnage of cargo moved.

The nice figure below shows the rankings today of the flag states.

 Sam Chambers July 28, 2023

Liberia replaces Panama as the world’s largest flag

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