Another maritime failure: Panama on the verge of losing the Qualship

Director of the Merchant Navy of the Panama Maritime Authority, Rafael Cigarruista, is trying to deny its responsibility for the Panamanian-flagged ship crisis. However, lawyers and experts question him directly as being responsible for the disaster that the Panamanian ship registry had in this administration, both in terms of the number of patents and the safety standards required by international regulations for ships.

This year, Panama not only entered the gray or warning list of the Paris Memorandum of Security, but in the first year it will lose the qualification that allowed it to enter the Coast Guard program United States called Qualship 21.

This is a program in which only registrants of ships that meet the standard are enrolled ecological safety. User of cigars tried to overshadow the fall of Panama on the gray list of the Paris Memorandum, pointing out that it managed to enter the Qualship 21 from the United States.

However, official sources they reveal that Panama is just one stop in its main fleet away from losing entry to the Qualship 21 program, which is due to run until 2024.

He implemented the Qualship 21 program United States Coast Guard from January 1, 2002, with the aim of guaranteeing safe maritime trade dedicated to the environment.

In order to qualify for this program, ships must meet established requirements, which encourage those exemplary ships that favor compliance and good environmental management, explained the company itself. AMP in one of its communications.

Recently, Cigarette caused discomfort in the maritime industry of Panama by pointing out that in the country every sector pulls for its own side and that the leadership of the Panamanian ship registry was achieved by chance, and not because something was planned for it. And let’s forget whether we are first, second or third, I understand nationalism… Panama becomes the first ship registry by accident, not because there was planning,” Cigarruista said noting that this is the result of the work of various law firms and not a government strategy.

Liberia was in a civil war and these ships wanted to get out of that country that was in trouble, he said. Rafael Cigarruista is the same AMP official, that a year ago he assured that Panama would lose the leadership of the register delivers worldwide.

Words from The cigar smoker does not surprise lawyer Pedro Sitton, but above all contradictions. “Before it was important not to lose the record, now it is not.”

Regarding the comments regarding the fact that Panama accidentally reached the first place in the register, Sittón recalled that “since the time of Hugo Torrijos during the government of Pérez Balladares, a defined strategy has been followed continued Jerry Salazar in the government of Mireye Moscoso and he went to that position and a good name for Panama, increasing tonnage by giving discounts, but cleaning the registry of old ships,” explained the lawyer. He said that “with this administration, it made water in the Panamanian registry of ships. The crisis has broken out”. As for the possibility that the current director Fr AMP Merchant Marine can go to work with Liberia after completing his term in that institution, he believes that “the Panamanian registry is in crisis because of officials like this one who only think about the future of their jobs.

Nothing has been done and probably won’t because they are destroying Panama in order to favor whoever will give them the exit door for privatization.

He believes that to protect the Panamanian registry there should be a clause that prevents those who have worked in places where sensitive data about the country is handled from offering their services outside Panama at least for a certain period of time.