Casey, Rubio to Panama: Stop Iran’s Illegal Oil Transport on Panamanian-flagged Ships

"Using open-source data, the nonprofit United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) identified 383 suspected “ghost fleet” vessels, including 189 Panamanian-flagged vessels (49% of all vessels) as of January 2024. Since Senators Casey and Rubio pushed Panama to investigate and de-flag vessels of concern based on UANI’s notifications, the AMP has removed more than 32 ships. Greater information-sharing from Panama about ships that requested their own cancellation would further help to reduce the number of vessels transporting Iranian oil, which would limit Iran’s revenue. Senator Rubio introduced and Senator Casey cosponsored the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act, which will impose sanctions on Iranian oil purchases, after passing as part of the recent national security supplemental package."