Panama and the United States have agreed on allowing American officials to board ships carrying the Panamanian flag and search them for weapons of mass destruction on the open seas, a Panamanian official said Tuesday. The agreement, to be signed Wednesday in Washington, is similar to an accord the State Department reached in February with Liberia, the world's No. 2 shipping registry. Panama is No. 1. The accord gives the U.S. Navy the right to board thousands of commercial ships in international waters to search for weapons of mass destruction.
"Yar! Heave to and stand by to be boarded!"
"Er, been watching "Pirates of the Caribbean" again, Ensign?" |
It comes amid fears that terror networks would take advantage of the relatively lax security on ships for attacks following heightened security on commercial airliners. Panamanian Vice Foreign Secretary Nivia Castrellon said in a recent interview that U.S. and Panamanian authorities are "constantly" negotiating shipping-related issues. As recently as March, however, Will Ostick, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Panama City, said such an agreement was less necessary in Panama's case because drug-smuggling agreements already allow U.S. Coast Guard officials to board many ships with Panamanian registration in search of narcotics. |