New Fees May Be Charged For Panamian Entry

Created by doina. Last modified on 2006-05-28 21:05:08
Countries: Panama

Noonsite has received a report that a yacht coming from Golfito in Costa Rica and making its entry in Pedregal, Panama, was charged USD200 by the "Autoridad Maritima de Panama", despite the fact that they had the usual zarpe from Costa Rica (Golfito to Pedregal). The authorities stated that coming from a country where there is a Panamanian Consulate, one must "authenticate" the yacht's papers at a cost of 100 USD locally (Costa Rica) or 200 USD in Panama. Officials claimed that this law which will now be applied in all ports of Panama, for all vessels entering the country, tourist or commercial.

Noonsite Editor Dave Wilson reports a similar incident in Bocas del Toro; "The new port captain gave a 1 week warning that he was going to start charging $100 fine for yachts entering without having first gotten visas. David Cooper, the manager of Balboa YC, called the Autoridad Maritima and they straightened the matter out. This requirement was in the law but was later changed."

Noonsite would like to hear from any yachts who have had similar experiences, please contact info@noonsite.com