In a boost for the hopes of entry into force
of the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling Panama is set for ratification.
In a meeting with IMO secretary general
Ki-tak Lim, Panama minister of maritime affairs and administrator of the Panama
Maritime Authority (AMP) Jorge Barakat told Lim “Panama had decided to approve
the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling.”
The bill that is in the National Assembly has
been approved and is only waiting for President Varela’s signature to enter
force. The meeting took place during the 116 session of the IMO Council, where
Panama is a category A member.
However Panama is still evaluating whether to
ratify the Ballast Water Convention and though it has been presented to the
National Assembly the process of approving the bill may take some months.
Panama said its decisions on the above instruments demonstrate the country’s
commitment to further enhance the adoption of measures for the protection of
the marine environment.
In relation to the implementation of
amendments to regulation VI/2 of the SOLAS Convention regarding requiring
Container Weighting as regulated by the Convention, Barakat told IMO secretary
General Lim that the measures had been enforced on 1 July 2016 and that Panama
was now in full compliance with the SOLAS amendments. The country handled 6.7m
teu in 2015.
Panama’s Ship Registry is the world’s largest
international registry with 8,071 vessels and 218.5m gt according to IHS
Global, will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year.
“Many things have changed and are in process
of changing for the international registries,” Lim told Barakat. “Performance
and quality are essential.” To date, 93% of Panama’s fleet is classified by
IACs, the rest 7% by non-IACs of which only 3% are Panama nationals.
Source: seatrade-maritime. 07 July 2016
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