Panama’s long retreat from the top of the global ship registry rankings has reached another milestone, with the once dominant flag now overtaken by the Marshall Islands to fall into third place.
The latest Clarksons Research data, dated September 1, shows the Marshall Islands fleet at 212.7m gt, comfortably ahead of Panama on 196m gt. Liberia has extended its lead at the top to 317.4m gt.
Panama remains comfortably ahead by vessel numbers, with 7,516 ships against 4,808 for the Marshall Islands and 6,167 for Liberia, but its tonnage has contracted sharply. The Clarksons data shows Panama down 15% this year, from 230.5m gt at the end of 2025, while both Liberia and the Marshall Islands have grown 8.7%.
It represents a remarkable reversal. Panama had been the world’s largest registry for 30 years before Liberia finally overtook it in 2023.
The decline has accelerated as Panama cleans up its register while simultaneously becoming caught in geopolitical crossfire.
Last year the Panama Maritime Authority stopped accepting tankers and bulkers over 15 years old as part of a wider effort to distance the flag from sanctioned and shadow fleet tonnage.
This year has brought another problem. Splash reported in June that heightened Chinese scrutiny of Panama-flagged ships followed Panama’s removal of CK Hutchison-linked operators from two canal ports, with owners increasingly considering Liberia and the Marshall Islands instead. Chinese leasing companies have subsequently required some owners to reflag away from Panama when arranging newbuilding finance.
Panama also stands out for the age of its fleet. Its average ship is 19.5 years old, by far the oldest among the top five flags. Liberia averages 12.6 years, the Marshall Islands 12, Singapore 11.3 and Hong Kong 14.9.
The other big change at the top has occurred further down the table. Singapore has consolidated fourth place with 141.1m gt, ahead of Hong Kong’s 111.6m gt. The two swapped positions last year as major owners including Seaspan and Pacific Basin shifted tonnage towards Singapore amid US-China trade tensions.
