During Panama’s working tour in Singapore, representatives of the Panama Ship Registry met for lunch with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), to forge alliances beneficial to both nations.

Both institutions are looking for cooperation for training of seafarers in the handling of new fuels. They have mutual interest in the decarbonization of the industry and the use of new fuels in Panama-flagged vessels.

A meeting took place with the ASI inspectors located in Singapore, as part of the efforts to align all actors serving the Registry’s customers. The Registry executives presented the results of the inspectors' evaluations, and the actions taken by Panama to maintain the fleet’s good performance.

The visit of the Panamanian delegation coincided with the Singapore Maritime Week, where Rafael Cigarruista, Director General of Merchant Marine participated in the panel "IMO- Singapore Future of Shipping Conference: Decarbonization" along with important members of the industry such as Vivian Rambarath-Parasram of MTCC Caribbean, Wei Ruan of MTCC Asia, Margi Van Gogh and Ingrid Sidenvall Jegou of the World Economic Forum.

During the panel, Panama explained that the world’s largest registry, with ship owners of different nationalities, provides

immediate service to users. It is of utmost importance, for the Panama flag, to address the issues of collaboration, innovation, teamwork between all parties making up the maritime industry, as well as the positions of Panama on decarbonization, digitization, maritime affairs, seafarers and personnel training, always working with a comprehensive perspective.

"A priority for Panama is the green agenda that we bring before the IMO, the agenda of the Panama Canal, the actions taken as a coastal state, flag state, and Port State; and our importance as a flag providing immediate actions to the parties as a regulatory body," said Cigarruista in the closing of his presentation.

The Panamanian delegation shared views with representatives of Maersk and Rina Class -during a business lunch- on the maritime industry, the coming changes and how registries, companies, classification societies and organizations must ensure the welfare of seafarers and the environment in the long term.

In Singapore, the Panama Registry restated its commitment to protect the environment and seafarers and provide excellent service to its customers through investment in new technologies, and training of agreements and measures.