TDFP Exclusive: Panama's Ship Registry Files to Lobby Washington Over 'Flag Vessels'

The Panama Maritime Authority, the government agency that runs Panama's ship registry, has registered a Washington lobbying firm to work on "issues regarding flag vessels," according to a federal lobbying disclosure filing reviewed by The Digital Free Press.

The registration, filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act by Checkmate Government Relations of Winston-Salem, N.C., was posted to the federal lobbying database at 5:31 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Oct. 21. It lists an effective date of Sept. 9, 2026.

The filing comes as the United States sanctions Panama-flagged tankers it says carried Iranian oil, and as Panama moves to strip those ships of its flag.

What the Panama Maritime Authority Filing Shows

The registration names the Panama Maritime Authority as the client and describes it as the "Panamanian ship registry." The issue area is listed as marine and maritime matters, and the specific issue is given in five words: "Issues regarding flag vessels."

Three lobbyists are named: Charles "Ches" McDowell, Nelson Freeman and Muhammad Usman Rahim. Rahim lists a prior government post as "Special Asst. Office of the Executive Secretariat." The filing does not say which agency that office belonged to.

The form does not disclose a fee, and it does not say which officials or agencies the lobbyists plan to contact. Lobbying firms report their income in quarterly reports filed after registration.

The federal lobbying database shows no earlier Lobbying Disclosure Act registration with the Panama Maritime Authority as a client.

The 2025 Hire

This is not the authority's first deal with Checkmate. Politico reported in May 2025 that the Panama Maritime Authority had hired the firm, which Politico described as founded by Ches McDowell, "a close friend of Donald Trump Jr." The deal was reported at $195,000 a month for six months.

Until now, that relationship had been disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the law that covers work for foreign governments. Justice Department records list the Panama Maritime Authority as an active foreign principal of Checkmate since May 2, 2025, and show an updated agreement dated Oct. 6, 2025, described as "Government relations services." The new filing is the first time the authority appears as a client in the federal lobbying database.

Sanctions on Panama-Flagged Tankers

The new registration lands in the middle of a U.S. crackdown on tankers carrying Iranian oil. On Oct. 8, the Treasury Department listed 17 tankers as part of what it calls Operation Economic Outcast, including three registered in Panama, The Maritime Executive reported.

Panama's maritime authority said it had already restricted the three ships and started removing them from its registry. Treasury accused the three tankers of moving Iranian naphtha, fuel oil and asphalt. Ship databases show one of them, the Starway, had already switched its flag to Barbados in September, according to the report.

Panama has the world's largest registry by number of ships, with about 7,700 vessels under its flag. Panama reports that 107 sanctioned ships were taken off its rolls in the first six months after it invoked a 2024 executive decree that sped up removals. The country has been criticized in the past for being slow to act against sanctions violators, The Maritime Executive reported.

The lobbying filing does not tie the registration to any specific vessel or sanctions action. It lists only the general issue of flag vessels.

Image: The oil tanker Sunlight Express approaches the Panama Canal's Gatun Locks, 2016, file photo; Paul Harrison / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Hold Everyone Accountable.

Sources: Lobbying registration, Checkmate Government Relations for the Panama Maritime Authority (posted Oct. 21, 2026), Lobbying Disclosure Act database: https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/3b0ef7bf-1123-4fef-b55f-c86406cfee15/print/ ; Same filing as data: https://lda.gov/api/v1/filings/3b0ef7bf-1123-4fef-b55f-c86406cfee15/ ; Politico Influence, "Panama Maritime Authority hires Checkmate" (May 2, 2025): https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2025/05/02/panama-canal-hires-checkmate-00324846 ; The Maritime Executive, "Panama Moves to Revoke Registry from Three Tankers Sanctioned by U.S." (Oct. 13, 2026): https://maritime-executive.com/article/panama-moves-to-revoke-registry-from-three-tankers-sanctioned-by-u-s ; FARA Exhibit B, Checkmate Government Relations for the Panama Maritime Authority (filed Oct. 17, 2025), U.S. Department of Justice: https://efile.fara.gov/docs/7534-Exhibit-AB-20251017-1.pdf ; FARA Exhibit B (filed May 2, 2025): https://efile.fara.gov/docs/7534-Exhibit-AB-20250502-5.pdf