---

Panama-flagged ships consumed more bunker fuel than any other country in 2015, according to a report published by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

The study, entitled 'Black carbon emissions and fuel use in global shipping 2015', calculates that ships registered in Panama used 43.9 million tonnes of bunkers in 2015, representing 16.5 percent of the total amount consumed (266.275 million tonnes) by vessels globally.

According to the report, five flag states - Panama, China, Liberia, Marshall Islands and Singapore - consumed 137 million tonnes of fuel in 2015, which was equivalent to 52 percent of total fuel consumption by ships.

Bulk carriers (15.1 million tonnes) and container ships (10.4 million tonnes) together made up more than half of Panama's total.

China-flagged vessels were ranked second in the report, with consumption assessed at 27.9 million tonnes. Container ships represented 9.7 million tonnes of the country's total, and bulk carriers 9.5 million tonnes.

Liberia (27.2 million tonnes), Marshall Islands (20.6 million tonnes) and Singapore (17.5 million tonnes) made up the rest of the top five flag states.

In Liberia and Singapore, boxship consumption was ranked above the other vessel type categories at 12.1 million tonnes and 6.9 million tonnes respectively. In Marshall Islands, meanwhile, bulk carriers were deemed to have consumed the most fuel, 6.3 million tonnes, in 2015.