While the transition from the company Orion to the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) is carried out, the evaluation of licenses for marine officials will be temporarily suspended.

The manager of the AMP, Jorge Barakat, told Prensa.com that "...with this decision it is expected that the state will receive money that until now had been feeding the finances of a private company."

"...the Orion company began operating a few months into the administration of former President Ricardo Martinelli, with a selection of over 50 maritime training courses and as of 2011 had the exclusive right to process the assessment or recovery of licenses for officials in the Panamanian Marine registry. "

The decision to revise the conditions under which Orion operated came about after the Panamanian Association of Marine Officers (Apom) noted that it "... certified and gave titles to naval officials without them having completed the necessary training, putting the profession at risk."

Source: Prensa.com

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