Panama Ship Registry drops to third place in world rankings Panama Ship Registry, which has been among the largest ship registry in the world for many years,
Panama Ship Registry drops to third place in world rankings
Panama Ship Registry, which has been among the largest ship registry in the world for many years, fell to third place in the global rankings due to the loss of tonnage in its fleet. According to Clarksons Research data, Panama has fallen behind the Marshall Islands Registry.
2026 World Fleet Register data published by Clarksons Research revealed that the balances in world ship registries have changed. According to the data, the Panama Ship Registry ranked third with 202.1 million gross tonnage (GT) and 7 thousand 677 ships.
While the Liberian Ship Registry retained the first place in the ranking with 314.6 million GT and 6 thousand 138 ships, the Marshall Islands Registry rose to second place with 209.4 million GT and 4 thousand 732 ships.
There was a loss of tonnage in the Panama fleet
Panama's decline in the rankings was due to ships being removed from the registry, the clearance of tonnages under sanctions, and the transfer of some ships to other flags.
Panama Ship Registry officials state that the decrease should not be evaluated only as fleet size. The registry management announced that fleet quality is prioritized by deregistering ships that perform poorly or do not meet international standards.
Liberia continues to lead
Liberia has come to the fore in recent years in the competition in world ship registries. The Liberia Registry surpassed Panama in 2023 and became the largest ship registry in the world in terms of gross tonnage.
Panama stood out as the largest registration center of the world trade fleet for many years. The decline in registration indicates increased competition in the global ship registration market.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
