Legal regime of incentives to Maritime Financing - The Projects and Their Procedures

Law 50 of 2017, based on the incentives it provides (https://www.pmalawyers.com/post/legal-incentives-to-maritime-financing), and the expedited and centralized procedures it allows through a one-stop department, seeks to attract investments for the maritime and logistics sector through financial and banking entities both local and foreign.

To obtain the benefits established in Law 50, persons or entities wishing to engage in the maritime financing business must obtain a certification as a maritime financing entity through the corresponding authorities.

Likewise, maritime projects that wish to adhere to the benefits established in Law 50, must obtain a certification from the relevant authorities, which recognize said projects as a “Fundable Maritime Project”, as the case may be.

Article 2 of Law 50 defines the following as Financeable Maritime Projects:

a) Ship building;

b) Construction of shipyards and the adaptation of other businesses, workshops or yards for the construction of ships;

c) Construction and repair of containers that are used for foreign trade; and

d) Construction of Sea Wind Farms.

The procedures for certifications will be carried out through a Maritime One-Stop Department, which will be considered a department of the Directorate General of Property of the Public Registry of Ships of the Panama Maritime Authority.

Law 50 establishes that public entities that will have shared functions with the Panama Maritime Authority for the development of the aforementioned Maritime One-Stop Department, must sign inter-institutional agreements to specify functions and appoint officials, within 90 calendar days following the enactment of Law 50, and that such agreements will be further approved by Executive Decree.

PATTON, MORENO & ASVAT - Key contacts Maritime Law

PANAMA: María Teresa Diaz (mdiaz@pmalawyers.com) | Belisario Porras (bporras@pmalawyers.com)

UK: Enrique Sibauste (esibauste@pmalawyers.co.uk)