Panama-flag vessel detentions
18 detentions of vessels flying the Panama flag. Each report covers the full VesselScore due diligence record including inspection history, ownership chain, and risk scoring.
GOLDEN VEGA (IMO 9773167) detained at Shanghai, October 2026
The Panama-flagged chemical/oil products tanker Golden Vega was detained at Shanghai on 12 October 2026, its second detention in under four months. A vessel that sailed through its first nine years of service without a single detention has now accumulated two in quick succession under the same ownership and management that has been in place since delivery.
AMIS BRAVE (IMO 9667459) detained at Zhangzhou, October 2026
The Panama-flagged bulker AMIS BRAVE was detained at Zhangzhou, China, on 12 October 2026, marking its first recorded detention in 13 years of service and across 39 prior port state control inspections. The vessel had passed every previous inspection without a single detention, making this event a significant departure from an otherwise exemplary record.
HT GOLDEN (IMO 1015806) detained at Guangzhou, October 2026
The Panama-flagged deck cargo ship HT GOLDEN has been detained in Guangzhou on 12 October 2026, marking its first detention in a short operational life. The vessel, built in 2022 and only four years old, has been under its current manager for barely a month, following a pattern of management turnover that is the single largest risk factor in its profile.
VIRGO I (IMO 9176412) detained at Piraeus, October 2026
The 29-year-old oil products tanker VIRGO I has been detained at Piraeus, marking the vessel's first known detention in a PSC record spanning more than two decades and 29 inspections. The detention comes roughly five months after her classification with Nippon Kaiji Kyokai was suspended, a fact that fundamentally changes the risk picture for a vessel whose inspection history was otherwise remarkably clean.
EVER LUCKY (IMO 9604172) detained at Shenzhen, October 2026
Evergreen Marine's 9,466-TEU container ship EVER LUCKY has been detained at Shenzhen on 9 October 2026, marking the vessel's first detention in over 12 years of service spanning 33 prior port state control inspections, all of which she passed without being held. The detention is a genuine outlier for a vessel managed continuously by the same operator since delivery and classed throughout by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai.
MSC ASYA (IMO 9339296) detained at Sydney, NSW, October 2026
The 9,200-TEU container ship MSC ASYA has been detained by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in Sydney on 9 October 2026, marking its third detention in under four years. The vessel, managed by MSC Mediterranean Shipping since delivery in 2008, had already been detained in Antwerp in January 2023 and London in February 2025, both with double-digit deficiency counts, making this latest action part of a clear and worsening pattern.
OCEAN STAR 7 (IMO 8586983) detained at Hachinohe, October 2026
The Panama-flagged general cargo ship Ocean Star 7 was detained at Hachinohe, Japan, on 9 October 2026, marking her third detention in under four years under the same Hong Kong-based manager. The vessel, classed by Intermaritime Certification Services, has accumulated 123 deficiencies across 29 port state control inspections since early 2022, a record that places her firmly in the very high risk category.
SKY IRIS (IMO 9958066) detained at Shanghai, October 2026
A four-year-old Japanese-managed containership with a near-spotless PSC record has been detained at Shanghai, marking its first detention ever. Across 13 prior port state inspections, the vessel recorded just a single deficiency, making this an outlier event that will demand close attention from charterers and underwriters watching the vessel's next moves.
LIBRA-XS (IMO 9282742) detained at Yingkou, October 2026
The 23-year-old Supramax bulker LIBRA-XS has been detained at Yingkou, China, marking the vessel's first recorded detention in over two decades of service and 66 prior port state control inspections without a single hold. The detention comes nine months after a change in ISM management and amid a sharp uptick in deficiency findings during 2026 inspections.
JC QINGDAO (IMO 9614804) detained at Singapore, October 2026
The Panama-flagged bulk carrier JC QINGDAO was detained in Singapore on 8 October 2026, the second detention for a vessel that has accumulated 28 deficiencies across just seven inspections in barely 15 months of trading under a new flag and name. The ship reflagged from China and renamed from Jiang Quan 6 in July 2025; ISM management changed hands to Hong Kong-based Newbal Shipping Ltd in late November 2025, just weeks before a 17-deficiency detention in Indonesia.
STEP FORWARD (IMO 9119153) detained at Tanjung Priok, October 2026
The 31-year-old Panama-flagged general cargo ship STEP FORWARD was detained at Tanjung Priok, Indonesia on 6 October 2026 under the management of Dalian Chun An Ship Management. This is only the vessel's second detention in a PSC record spanning 88 inspections over 26 years, but it comes after a period of rising deficiency counts and follows a previous detention at an Indonesian port in 2020.
DSM AMBITION (IMO 9472672) detained at Shanghai, October 2026
The 18-year-old Panama-flagged general cargo ship DSM Ambition has been detained in Shanghai on 6 October 2026, the third detention recorded against the vessel in just eight months. The vessel changed ownership, management, flag, and name in August 2026, and her deteriorating PSC record under these new operators marks a sharp departure from more than a decade of detention-free service.
NOTA APP (IMO 9249271) detained at Constanta, October 2026
The 23-year-old Panama-flagged bulker NOTA APP was detained at Constanta, Romania, on 5 October 2026, barely two and a half months after her ship manager and ISM manager changed to Valship Shipping SA of Athens. This is the vessel's third detention in a PSC record spanning 74 inspections over more than two decades, and it comes amid a period of elevated deficiency counts, a reinstated classification, and a management chain that has turned over repeatedly since 2016.
SKOON A (IMO 8592982) detained at Dalian, October 2026
The Panama-flagged general cargo ship SKOON A was detained at Dalian, China on 4 October 2026, her second detention in 18 months under the same Hong Kong-based manager. The vessel, classed by the minor classification society Intermaritime Certification Services, has accumulated 58 deficiencies across 17 inspections since late 2022, a record that made this outcome more predictable than surprising.
BELLE ARIES (IMO 9313204) detained at Shanghai, October 2026
The 21-year-old Panama-flagged container ship Belle Aries was detained in Shanghai on 3 October 2026, marking the vessel's first recorded detention in a PSC history stretching back over two decades and 35 inspections. The ship, formerly known as Newnew Polar Bear and linked to a 2023 marine casualty off the Chinese coast, has changed hands, names, flags, and class societies multiple times in the past three years.
ULTRA LEOPARD (IMO 9758428) detained at Fangcheng, September 2026
The Panama-flagged Kamsarmax bulker ULTRA LEOPARD was detained at Fangcheng, China, on 30 September 2026, marking only the second detention in a decade of service under unchanged Japanese management. The vessel had passed through 31 prior port state inspections with a notably low deficiency rate, making this detention an outlier against an otherwise clean record.
GUANG TONG 15 (IMO 8591366) detained at Ulsan, September 2026
The Panama-flagged general cargo ship GUANG TONG 15 was detained at Ulsan, South Korea on 28 September 2026, marking its second detention in under twelve months. The vessel, classed by Panama Maritime Documentation Services (PMDS), scored 49.9 out of 100 on VesselScore and sits firmly in the 'very high risk' band, with its prior detention in October 2025 at Teluk Bayur, Indonesia, already on the record.
ZETA I (IMO 9539676) detained at Curaçao, September 2026
Panama-flagged oil products tanker ZETA I has been detained at Curaçao on 22 September 2026 with three deficiencies, marking the vessel's first detention in a PSC record that spans eight years of inspections. The detention comes just six months after inspectors at the same port logged seven deficiencies without detaining the ship, and against the backdrop of a Bureau Veritas classification that was reinstated in late 2024 after an apparent lapse.
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