Panama signs ship boarding pact

Panama today signed a ship-boarding agreement that supports the efforts of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) to stop the trade in deadly weapons and materials.

The agreement establishes streamlined procedures for American officials to request and board ships registered in Panama if those ships are suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, or related materials.

"More ships sail under the Panamanian flag than that of any other nation," said a White House statement issued today. "This agreement sends a strong signal to proliferators that the free nations of the world are determined to protect their people and preserve the peace."

This is the second bilateral ship-boarding agreement signed to support PSI. The United States and the Government of Liberia signed a similar agreement on February 11, 2004.

Together, Panama and Liberia account for roughly 30 percent of the world's commercial shipping tonnage.

"We welcome this historic decision by the Government of Panama. And we urge other nations with large commercial shipping registries to follow the lead of Panama and Liberia to make a stand against proliferation," said the White House statement.