Same topic in Florida: coming from the US? Compare Buy & Sell.
Buy well. Sell clean.
Your boat deal in Panama.
Priced in dollars, done on paper.
Buying or selling a boat in Panama runs through the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP) registry, a notary and, when the boat was imported, Aduanas. This hub walks through finding and checking a boat, closing and transferring it, and what changes when the boat or the buyer crosses a border.
THE DEAL FILE PANAMA CITY + IMPORTS + FOREIGN FLAGS
01
THE DEAL FILE
Buying a boat in Panama
A thin local market, cash deals, imported boats with duty history, and tropical wear. This chapter covers choosing for Pacific or Caribbean use, surveys and sea trials in Bahía de Panamá, the AMP lien check, the contrato de compraventa and the notary.
Panama City
Buying a boat in Panama City: where, how, what it costs
Boats in Panama City sell via brokers, Encuentra24 and marina word of mouth. Check the AMP registry, survey at a yard, close by notary and AMP traspaso.
Panama City
Boat surveys and sea trials in Panama City
How to find a boat surveyor in Panama City, where to haul out (Flamenco, Vista Mar, Balboa YC) and how to sea-trial in Bahía de Panamá tides and chop.
Panama City
Owning a boat in Panama City: the real yearly costs
Yearly boat costs in Panama City: marina slip, AMP fees, insurance, warm-water bottom cleaning, regulated fuel, crew and taxes, with a fill-in worksheet.
02
THE DEAL FILE
Selling a boat in Panama
Valuation with few comps, preparing a boat in the tropics, private sale versus broker, and the closing: AMP transfer (traspaso), notary, ITBMS and what happens when the buyer sails the boat out of the country.
03
THE DEAL FILE
Imports, exports & foreign flags
Importing through Aduanas with a customs broker, 'in transit' versus imported status, bringing a boat down from Florida, how long a foreign-flagged boat can stay, and exporting or shipping a boat out.
Panama City
Marine offices and contacts in Panama City
Where each agency sits in Panama City and what it does: AMP at Diablo Heights, ACP at Balboa, SENAN on the causeway, ATP on Avenida Balboa, Migración.
Marina
Shelter Bay Marina (Colón): canal staging, yard, costs
Shelter Bay Marina at Fort Sherman is the Caribbean-side base for a Panama Canal transit: about 200 slips, a 100-ton Travelift, dry storage and a shuttle to Colón.