Nations Come Together for PANAMAX 2026 Pre-Sail Conference

Colón, Panama - The Royal Netherlands Navy hosted the United States, Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia and Netherlands onto the HNLMS Groningen (P843) OPV, on Aug. 4, 2026, for a brief to outline for PANAMAX 2026 in a pre-sail conference.

The four major vessels participating in this event include the Netherland's HNLMS Groningen (P843) OPV, Colombia's ARC "Caldas" (FM-52) frigate, Dominican Republic's GC-112 "Altair" patrol boat, Panama's P-230 "Los Santos" patrol boat and three uncrewed surface vessels supplied by the United States.

"Interoperability is such a critical part of this training," said Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Monbleau, lead planner and liaison for the Combined Force Maritime Component Commander, "as it allows us to combine our respective languages, backgrounds, experience, and capabilities to form a capable and ready maritime force."

This training is vital in protecting maritime shipping, ensuring freedom of movement and maintaining stability in the region. By training together, the participating nations get to learn from one another and ensure everyone shares a common understanding in maritime operations.

"This exercise contributes to strengthening our interoperability between forces by integrating deliberate planning efforts across many nations, respective joint services and communities," said Monbleau, "This exercise is a remarkable way to prepare these nations for future collaborative security and defense efforts."

In this training exercise, at the request of the Government of Panama, the U.S. seeks to use multinational capabilities and interoperability, as deemed necessary by the Government of Panama, to defend the Panama Canal and improve regional security.

"No single country can address all maritime security challenges on its own," said Cmdr. Alex Arriëns Dwarshuis, commanding officer of the HNLMS Groningen, "By investing in cooperation, we increase our effectiveness when operating at sea."

PANAMAX 2026 scenarios help the defense and public security forces of participating nations improve interoperability, hone their skills during scenarios involving coalition and all-domain operations, forge strong cooperative partnerships, and demonstrate their collective capacity to respond to and deter threats to the region and its critical waterways.