WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) and a bipartisan group of his colleagues are urging the President of Panama to close an essential information-sharing gap critical to preventing Iran from transporting its oil under the Panamanian flag — a clear violation of U.S. sanctions. Iranian oil sanctions imposed in 2018 and 2019 cut off a significant source of revenue the regime uses to fund terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas, cartels, nuclear proliferation and other nefarious activity in the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere. However, the Iranian regime has tried to escape the oil sanctions by registering ships carrying its oil under the flags of other nations.

Earlier this year, after receiving a letter from Senator King and his colleagues, the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) made progress by opening investigations into all ships suspected of transporting Iranian oil and has since removed at least 32 vessels from its registry.

“This additional step will help put a stop to Iran’s ghost fleet, which has allowed it to export hundreds of millions of barrels of Iranian oil in recent years and which ultimately funds the regime’s continued human rights violations, proxy forces, and nuclear proliferation program. Iran consistently works in opposition to peace, stability, democracy, and shared American values and interests across the Middle East,” the Senators wrote.

As a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Chair of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senator King is an active, vocal supporter of the importance of democratic values and defeating terrorism. Earlier this year, he joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues in writing a letter urging a global crackdown on the transport of Iranian oil. After a January congressional delegation trip to the Middle East, Senator King reflected on the trip by warning that continued Houthi attacks, an Iranian-backed terrorist proxy, on international shipping lanes would warrant a response. Senator King has also been outspoken on the need to defeat Hamas, another Iranian-backed terrorist proxy based in Gaza, that massacred over a thousand innocent Israeli citizens, committed mass gender-based violence including rape, and took hundreds of innocent civilians hostage.

In addition to Senator King, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

Read the full letter here or below.

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Dear President Cortizo:

We write to thank you for your continued response with regard to Iranian shipping sanctions and the Panama Maritime Authority’s ship registry — specifically, the Panama Maritime Authority’s (AMP) focus on vessels suspected of carrying Iranian oil. It is our understanding that you intend to increase transparency and international compliance across the shipping industry to help cut into Iran’s illicit revenues, laying the groundwork to better address similar situations in the future. We sincerely appreciate your work in combating Iran and view your efforts as a significant strengthening of the partnership that our countries have shared for many years.

We understand that Panama, and other like-minded states, created the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) partly to prevent ships cancelled in one jurisdiction from easily registering in a different jurisdiction. We also have been made aware that ships requested to leave the AMP’s registry before the AMP had them officially cancelled. Therefore, we urge Panama and other RISC states to work toward addressing this information sharing gap by also sharing information about ships that requested their own cancellation. Although not determinative of these vessels’ guilt, such a move may merit additional vetting before another RISC member state chooses to allow such a ship to register under their own flag.

This additional step will help put a stop to Iran’s ghost fleet, which has allowed it to export hundreds of millions of barrels of Iranian oil in recent years and which ultimately funds the regime’s continued human rights violations, proxy forces, and nuclear proliferation program. Iran consistently works in opposition to peace, stability, democracy, and shared American values and interests across the Middle East.

We appreciate the Panamanian government’s commitment to safeguarding our region from the threat posed by Iran, including by working closely with the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It is our hope that we continue to communicate on these important matters and further strengthen our relationship.

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