The Panama Maritime Authority officially inaugurated a Miami office to facilitate technical inquiries and respond to clients on the US East Coast. Previously, the registry’s technical office was located in New York.
Jorge Barakat Pitty, minister of maritime affairs and administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority, said the office will provide quality service, 24/7.
The opening of the office brings new challenges and goals, Barakat Pitty stated, mainly that Panama-registered vessels comply with QUALSHIP 21, the US Coast Guard’s program to improve the quality and safety of ships plying US waters. Panama is the world’s largest registry, with approximately 8,200 vessels including many cruise ships.
‘We have a great commitment to the International Maritime Organization, our clients and to Panama,’ Barakat Pitty said, ‘to channel our efforts and experience so that the world continues to have a safe, responsible and, above all, excellent transportation industry for the benefit of world trade.
‘We will continue to work closely with the USCG, the cruise industry, the yacht industry and the US shipping industry in general,’ he added, ‘to ensure the safety of our ships within and outside the waters of the United States, and to the benefit of the international maritime sector.’
The Panama Maritime Authority also intends to open documentation offices in Dubai, Manila and London and, in the near future, to set up a special unit to support the MODUS industry in Houston.
Attendees at Friday’s Miami inauguration included Adela Del Rosario Chiari, consul general, Panama Merchant Marine; Fran Bohsansack, US Department of Transportation Maritime Administration; Capt. Megan Dean, commander, Coast Guard Sector Miami; Ramón Molina, US Department of State; members of the Panama Maritime Authority, honorary consuls of Panama in the US and shipping company representatives.
The Panama Maritime Authority’s Segumar office is located at One Biscayne Blvd., Miami, Florida 33131; telephone: 212-869-6440.