This case raises questions about the traceability of seized shipments in Panama and the potential diversions to European markets, despite tight U.S. control over the Canal.
Until 2021, it was involved in the bunkering business as a tugboat for a maritime fuel barge.
Author: La Tabla/Data Journalism Platform 28 OCT 2025
The tugboat Little Girls (IMO 7417202), intercepted three days ago off the coast of Lisbon with over 4,000 kilos of cocaine, is not just any vessel. For several years, it was part of the fuel supply fleet for the Panama Canal, one of the most lucrative and strategic maritime operations in the country.
Its departure to Spain was recorded from the Cristóbal port, located in the canal zone, raising questions about the traceability of the drug and the potential diversion of seized shipments.
A “paper-trail” history
Built in 1975 in Mississippi, USA, the ship was known as Hale Tide, Mero, Modeste I, and Macedonio before joining the fleet of Interoceanic Supply Service, S.A. in Panama in 2015, where it operated as Great Naos. There, it served as a tugboat for the fuel barge Great Taboga, providing bunkering services to vessels crossing the Canal.
Identity change
In September 2024, it adopted the name Little Girls under the Tanzanian flag. In January 2025, it was photographed in Cristóbal under its new identity.
Three weeks prior to its capture in Spain, it set sail from that Panamanian port with a declared destination of Vigo, Spain.
The Spanish Navy and National Police intercepted the vessel off Lisbon, transferring it to the Canary Islands, where the presence of over 4 tons of cocaine in its holds was confirmed.
Seizures headed to the U.S. In recent years, Panama has sent enormous volumes of seized drugs to the United States for destruction: 55.7 tons in January 2023 and 49.3 tons in June 2024, among other documented events in news reports and publications online.
These operations, under strict supervision from U.S. authorities and in coordination with Southern Command, raise doubts about the chain of custody and the possibility of diversions to other markets.
The U.S. control over Canal security has strengthened in the last decade, with visits from high-ranking officials of Southern Command and naval deployments in the Southern Caribbean.
However, the transit of the Little Girls with a large shipment went unnoticed, contrasting with the swift lethal responses directed against smaller boats.
Open questions
Why could a ship measuring 54 meters in length and over 600 tons in capacity cross the Caribbean without being intercepted?
What explains the different treatment compared to smaller vessels?
And, most importantly, could this case be the visible tip of a pattern of diverting seized drugs in Panama to Europe?