Contradictory Reports on Panama Canal Transits

Created by doina. Last modified on 2005-05-03 09:59:28
Contributors:
Topic: Jimmy Cornell Books and Boats
Countries: Panama

Recent reports received at Noonsite from several boat owners who had transited the Panama Canal paint a very different picture. For some, the transits were both expensive and harder than expected, while others had no complaints. We decided to let Noonsite visitors see both sides of the picture, and judge for themselves.

Giorgio Cagliero wrote: We just completed our southbound transit of the Panama Canal on our Hallberg-Rassy 46, and found the new way of handling sailboats to be quite different from what it used to be (not to mention much more pricey) or from what cruising guides say.

We used Tina McBride as our handling agent and we think she did a great job. However there are new fees that add up quite a bit. The new thing is that sailboats transits start around 5 pm or 6 pm, or sometimes later at night. Your advisor/pilot takes you through the first locks into Gatun Lake where you moor to a big mooring buoy to spend the rest of the night. Normally 3 sailboats go through each day and they raft together at the buoy. The advisor then leaves and another advisor arrives in the morning to complete the transit. So far so good. And these are the fees for a sailboat less than 50': $600 transit fee; $850 buffer (to be refunded); $440 delay fee (because you did not complete your transit in one day); $320 launch fee (to get your advisors back and forth to your boat); $100 mooring fee (to be rafted to a rusty mooring buoy in Gatun). Total fees : $1,460 + $850 buffer + $500 handling agent (if you use one). And then there is the wait: this season was anywhere from 10 to 19 days, most of the time being 15 days.

Now if you don't want to wait for 15 or more days in “lovely” Colon, you may request a pilot instead of an advisor and you can pick any day you like to transit and most likely you'll start the transit early morning and you might (underline MIGHT) even complete it in one day; some of the other fees are waived also, but there is the pilot fee, a whopping $2,250.

Clearly the days of transiting the Canal for $500 are gone for good !

Henry Capleton wrote: Just read your above report of Panama Canal transit costs. I think it could mislead having just transited ourselves two weeks ago. It is the case that the transit is over two days (which we consider a good thing anyway). We had an 11 day wait, which was a 10 day improvement over their initial estimate on the day we were measured. Although not essential, we used an agent (Stanley) who charged only $300 including lines and tyre hire. Transit charges for a 44´ sailboat were the advertised $600. Total cost $900. No other charges were raised and the agent covered the security deposit as part of his service. Many boats transited successfully without an agent for $600. Hope this gives an alternative and largely positive (except Colon) experience.

Nancy Zapf wrote: We'd like to confirm that the information provided by Giorgio Cagliero is incorrect. You are not charged delay, launch and mooring fees if the Canal schedules you for a two-day transit. You are only charged these extra fees if you state that your maximum boat speed is less than 8 knots (see below). We transited from Colon to Balboa in mid-March. We paid $850 total for our 50' boat ($600 for under 50'). These fees have not been changed recently.

The cruisers we met, our taxi driver and even the Admeasurer himself all advised us to record 8 knots as our “minimum full ahead speed,” although few yachts can actually go that fast, in order to avoid the delay, launch and moorage fees. In the very rare case that lack of speed should cause a delay, the extra fees would be subtracted from the deposit. This is virtually unheard of, unless you suffer an engine problem underway. We didn’t need to go over 5 knots during our two-day transit, which is the minimum required speed.

Most cruisers do not use an agent for the simple check-in procedures. Those who used an agent were not able to transit any earlier than we were (we waited 10 days to transit). The taxi drivers who service the Panama Canal Yacht Club are very knowledgeble about the latest procedures and for $10 they will take you to the Admeasurer's Office to get your appointment and to the bank to pay your transit fee. Our line handlers were cruisers who wanted to experience the trip while awaiting their own transit. If none are available, the taxi drivers can be hired. The skills line handlers need are basic: tieing lines to a cleat and using a winch. Lines and fenders can be rented.

Tip: Tell your family and friends to watch you transit the Miraflores Lock on the webcam: www.pancanal.com

Burger and Nancy Zapf, s/v HALEKAI

Jan wrote: We transited in 2003, friends just came through and our experiences are totally different. You don't need an agent at all; just ask around the Yachtclub for one of the taxi-guys. We paid about 11 U$ for an afternoon (2 hours) driving around town to get all the formalities done. I'm afraid the writers of the other message have been using an agent specialised in commercial ships. And this agent obviously is not aware of the special rules for yacht... See the pancanal website for all the unbiased information.