Panama Drops to Third in Global Ship Registry Rankings After Losing 15% of Its Tonnage This Year

Panama has fallen to third place among the world's ship registries. Figures dated September 1 put the Marshall Islands at 212.7 million gross tonnes and Panama at 196 million, with Liberia far ahead at 317.4 million. Panama's registered tonnage has shrunk 15% since the end of 2025, when it stood at 230.5 million. Liberia and the Marshall Islands have each grown 8.7% over the same stretch.

For 30 years, until Liberia overtook it in 2023, Panama was the largest flag in shipping.

Most Ships, Smaller Ships

Count hulls instead of tonnes and Panama still leads, with 7,516 ships against 6,167 for Liberia and 4,808 for the Marshall Islands. The gap between those two rankings says a lot about which ships are leaving.

The average Panama-flagged ship measures about 26,000 gross tonnes. The average Marshall Islands ship comes in around 44,000; the average Liberian one is near 51,000. Panama is holding on to smaller, older tonnage while large, young ships go elsewhere. Its fleet averages 19.5 years of age, by far the oldest of the top five flags. Liberia's averages 12.6, the Marshall Islands' 12, Singapore's 11.3 and Hong Kong's 14.9.

Part Cleanup, Part Fallout From the Canal Ports Dispute

Some of the loss was deliberate. Last year the Panama Maritime Authority stopped accepting tankers and bulk carriers older than 15 years, part of a push to separate the flag from sanctioned and shadow fleet tonnage. Those ships leaving was the point.

The rest traces back to the canal ports. In late January, Panama's Supreme Court struck down the concession that let CK Hutchison's Panama Ports Company run the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals at either end of the canal. APM Terminals took over Balboa and MSC's Terminal Investment Limited took Cristóbal, both under 18-month interim agreements. CK Hutchison has gone to arbitration against Panama and Maersk.

Detentions of Panama-flagged ships in Chinese ports climbed sharply after the ruling, to 96 in March and 136 in April; the April figure was 6.4 times the 2025 monthly average. Beijing denies targeting the flag and has linked the extra inspections to safety concerns, including collisions involving fishing boats. COSCO suspended its container service to Balboa in March. In May, the United States and five regional governments condemned what they called an attempt to politicise maritime trade.

Owners have responded. Some are weighing Liberia and the Marshall Islands instead, and Chinese leasing companies have told some owners to reflag away from Panama when arranging newbuilding finance. That last detail matters most over the long run. Chinese lessors fund a large share of the world's new ships; when their money comes with a flag condition, Panama loses young, large tonnage before it's even delivered.

What Comes Next

Further down the table, Singapore has tightened its hold on fourth place with 141.1 million gross tonnes, against 111.6 million for Hong Kong. The two swapped places last year after owners including Seaspan and Pacific Basin shifted tonnage to Singapore amid US-China trade tensions. Flag choice has become a way for owners to manage geopolitical risk, and Panama sits right on the fault line.

The cleanup of old tonnage was a choice Panama can defend. Losing newbuildings to lender-imposed reflagging is harder to reverse, since a ship financed away from the flag tends to stay away for years.

Panama still flags more ships than anyone else. It's losing the big new ones.