PANAMA CITY: A US special envoy on Wednesday called upon Panama to stop Iranian vessels from flying its flag, which allows the country to evade sanctions of Washington.
The small Central American state is the world leader in offering flags of convenience, which helps maritime companies to register their ships in countries to which they have no connection for freedom from any oversight.
Abram Paley, US deputy special envoy for Iran added that Iran and other actors are trying to escape sanctions by abusing Panama’s flag registry.
Paley was visiting the country to confirm Panama’s shipping registry scheme is not used by organizations facing sanctions.
According to the Panama Maritime Authority, the country has registered 8,540 vessels, 16% of the international fleet.
Washington believes that some of them are used by Iran to transport its oil to evade sanctions. Iran has been under strict US sanctions since Washington’s 2018 withdrawal from a nuclear deal.
According to Paley, at least six vessels with the flag of Panama have violated American sanctions since January.
The US government blames Iran for financing Yemen’s Houthi and other organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas with the revenue it receives from oil sales.
Experts believe that some owners of ships use the flag of convenience to avoid labor laws and environmental regulations.
Paley urged the Panamanian government to work with the US closely fulfilling its domestic laws and international obligations.
