Panama

Panama operates the world's largest ship registry by tonnage, with more than 9,000 vessels flagged under its banner. The flag-of-convenience system lets operators worldwide register under Panamanian law regardless of owner nationality, at lower cost and with fewer manning restrictions than most flag states. The Autoridad Maritima de Panama cooperates selectively with international sanctions enforcement but faces structural difficulty policing beneficial ownership across a registry of this scale.

This makes Panama one of the primary registries through which sanctioned operators, including those moving Iranian crude, route their fleets to obscure beneficial ownership. OFAC has repeatedly named Panama-flagged vessels in its Iran-linked SDN rounds, most recently designating VIRENT, TANJONG PAGAR 1 and SHENTON WAY on 14 July 2026 as part of a round targeting Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani's Iranian oil shipping network; the repeat designations have not substantially altered the registry's attractiveness for evasion.

Panama's banking sector and Colon Free Zone also provide a settlement channel for Cuban trade that cannot clear through US-linked correspondent banks; on 13 July 2026 US officials warned Panamanian banks over the sanctions-evasion risk of facilitating Cuba's Fincimex and Banco Financiero Internacional. Panama also competed at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, its second consecutive appearance, exiting the group stage without a point.