Update on Panama Canal Waiting Times

Created by val. Last modified on 2009-05-20 19:17:38
Contributors:
Countries: Panama

Posted 18 May 2009

There is essentially no wait time on the transit as there is so little commercial traffic. They are sending yachts through without ships.

Panama is pretty relaxed about the clearance procedures. You can get the shelter bay marina to clear in for you for 20usd. The marina is far enough from Colon that you are quite safe from the trouble surrounding the yacht club. There are plenty of empty berths at the shelter bay marina. 20usd each way in a taxi is the going rate if you haggle. The bus is free in the morning or 4usd in the afternoon. But the early bus departs at 8am from the marina and leaves town at 11;15. next bus is at 1pm from the marina.

Seren

Posted 13 March 2009

As of today, there appears to be a four to five day waiting period for boat transiting from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This is much shorter for boats crossing the other direction who have reported waiting times of two days. It appears that last year's delays are not happening this year. That may be due to improved work flow or fewer boats transiting due to the economy, I am not certain, and this could change in the future. Costs remain similar as in the past, $650 for the transit under 50 feet and an $850 buffer that is refunded several weeks later. Tires for use as fenders are on a shortage on the Atlantic side and costs have increased to $3 per tire. Line handlers are asking for $65 per person, which includes line rental. Lines without a line handler are a $20 rental charge.

Shelter Bay Marina is operating at over 100% capacity. They are now allowing yachts to anchor behind D-Dock and in the past week we have seen the harbor go from zero to 7 boats anchored there. Boats are also tied up to the floating barge near the marina entrance. This is due to a shortage of slips, probably a result of the Panama Yacht Club being bulldozed two weeks ago. The rate for anchoring in the marina is 40% less than the regular slip rate.

Otherwise all is well here in Panama. Our boat, Honeymoon, will transit this afternoon and we will keep in touch if we should learn anything else. Otherwise more information is available on our blog site (below).

Seth
s/v Honeymoon, Lagoon 380, San Francisco
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/honeymoon/