Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implication for his policies of reports that the Panamanian Maritime Authority had put the country at risk of another international sanction for supposedly reporting false or misleading information in response to criticisms about oil tankers from Iran, in particular vessels sailing under the Panamanian flag that were carrying Iranian crude oil.

We have taken note of reports, including by BBC Monitoring, alleging that Panamanian-flagged vessels have been carrying Iranian crude oil and helping Iran to avoid sanctions. The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) has stated that it has withdrawn the flag of 678 ships from its registry since 2019, in compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and in line with Panama's efforts to combat terrorist financing and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.