Panama: The Foreign Minister of the Republic, Javier Martínez-Acha, reported this Monday that the Panamanian Government is investigating the actions of several oil tankers intercepted by the United States near the Venezuelan coast, which were allegedly sailing under the Panamanian flag, and reiterated the call for respect for the national flag.
Martínez-Acha explained that the authorities have detected irregularities that raised concerns about the misuse of the Panamanian flag, including the disconnection of the location system, changes of vessel names, and inconsistencies in crew records. He also indicated that investigations are ongoing and that Panama requires not only these particular vessels, but all ships flying the Panamanian flag, to strictly comply with national laws, international maritime law, and established industry practices.
The vessels under suspicion disconnected their tracking devices; that’s a red flag. There were also name changes and apparent issues with crew names. All these factors lead us to believe that our flag is not being used responsibly, and we have acted accordingly, in accordance with maritime custom,” the foreign minister stated.
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