Panama

There are three stages of registration in Panama: the initial enrollment of the vessel otherwise known as provisional registration; the registration of the title of ownership in the Public Registry; and the permanent registration of the vessel.

The provisional registration applications and supporting documents must be presented by the shipowner or his representative to the Shipping Department or a special Panamanian Consulate who is authorized to receive vessel registration applications and issue provisional documents upon confirmation from the Shipping Department. To provisionally register a vessel in Panama, the following original documentation is required:

• Application form including the ship’s current and former name; complete address of the shipowner/agent; vessel’s legal representative in Panama; the name of the shipbuilder, date and place of construction; and other vessel details
• Power of Attorney appointing legal representatives, notarized and either legalized or apostilled
• Two counterparts of the Bill of Sale or Builder’s Certificate transferring title notarized and either legalized or apostilled
• Acceptance of Sale, notarized and either legalized or apostilled
• International Tonnage Certificate or Admeasurement Certificate, certified by the surveying company or Panamanian Consul
• Deletion Certificate if previously registered elsewhere, notarized and either legalized or apostilled

Photocopies and faxed documents are not permitted. All documents may be in a language other than Spanish for provisional registration.
Upon receipt of the abovementioned documentation and payment of the registration fees and first year’s annual charges, a Provisional Patente and Provisional Radio License will be issued usually within 24 hours. Provisional Patentes are valid for six months while Provisional Radio Licenses are valid for three months. Upon receipt of the completed application for a Permanent Radio License within the three month period, the Shipping Department will issue a Permanent Radio License valid for four years.

Next, the evidence of title must be filed with the Public Registry Office of Panama. In the case of a new ship, the Builder’s Certificate or Master Carpenter’s Certificate, signed by the legal representative of the builder, notarized and legalized or apostilled must be submitted. In the case of a vessel that has been registered in a registry other than Panama and has changed owners concurrently with its deletion from the former registry, ownership is evidenced by a Bill of Sale and Acceptance of Sale, notarized and legalized.

Finally, in cases where a vessel is transferred from the registry of another country to the registry of Panama without a sale, it is necessary to file as evidence of ownership the Deletion or Cancellation Certificate from the former flag showing the name of the owner registered under said flag and showing that the vessel was deleted free of mortgages and encumbrances. The Certificate must be notarized and legalized. In all cases the documents are translated into Spanish by an authorized Panamanian Public Translator and then protocolled by a notary public into a notarial document which is filed at the Public Registry. This procedure takes about ten to twenty days.

The Bill of Sale or other title of ownership may be registered in preliminary form through one of the Special authorized Consuls. In this procedure, the Consul shall retain one counterpart of the Bill of Sale and Acceptance of Sale and deliver the other to the interested party certifying that it is a true copy of the document which served as the basis for the preliminary registration of title in order that this authenticated copy be filed at the Public Registry in Panama within six months per the procedure previously outlined. When the final registration is accomplished, the effects are retroactive to the date and hour of notation in the Register of the preliminary application. This procedure is useful because in order for a vessel to be mortgaged, the title of ownership must have been registered.

After the title of ownership is recorded at the Public Registry, the shipowner or his legal representative must apply to the Shipping Department for the permanent registration of the ship. The application to the Shipping Department must be accompanied by a copy of the notarial document evidencing registration of the title in the Public Registry. Approximately 10 days after the Shipping Department has received the application for permanent registration and all supporting documents and if the vessel is up to date in payment of all fees, the Shipping Department will issue a Permanent Patente for the vessel which is valid for two years for a pleasure yacht and four years for other vessels. It is important to note that while all proceedings of an administrative nature are effected at the Shipping Department, the registration of vessels’ ownership and mortgages is done at the Public Registry, which is a separate and independent office. Shipping Department files are protected by a large degree of confidentiality, but those of the Public Registry, as the name implies, are open to the public. The Public Registry is an agency of the Ministry of Government and Justice. Registration may be canceled upon submission of an application to delete only through the legal representative of the vessel in Panama. Said application must state the purpose or reason for the deletion (e.g., the sale of the vessel) and must be accompanied by a certificate issued by the Public Registry Office showing that the vessel is free of mortgages or encumbrances. The Shipping Department will not authorize the deletion of the vessel unless the vessel is up to date in the payment of all fees and taxes.