Panama uses the international COLREG lights, day shapes and sound signals. Your boat shows sidelights, a stern light and a masthead or all-round white light from sunset to sunrise and in rain. The local challenge is reading other vessels: ships, tugs, pilot boats and dredges in the canal approaches, and pangas that often show nothing.
What your boat must show
The COLREGs apply in all Panamanian waters. Lights are required from sunset to sunrise and in restricted visibility, which in the rainy season means many afternoons.
| Your boat | Underway | At anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Power, under 12 m | Red and green sidelights, plus a masthead light and stern light, or one all-round white | All-round white |
| Power, 12–50 m | Masthead light, sidelights, stern light | All-round white forward (and aft if over 50 m) |
| Power, under 7 m and under 7 knots | All-round white, plus sidelights if practicable | All-round white |
| Sail, under 20 m | Sidelights and stern light, or a masthead tricolour; under engine, add the masthead light | All-round white |
| Rowing boat or kayak | A torch or lantern ready to show | Same |
If you replace a fitting with an LED unit, buy one marked for the COLREG visibility range and arc for your boat's length. Cheap units bought online often are not. The full rule set, with diagrams, is in boat navigation lights. Panama uses the same COLREG annexes.
Reading the vessels you will meet
- Ships: two masthead lights, the forward one lower. When you can see both lined up vertically with red and green below, the ship is coming straight at you.
- Tugs towing or pushing: two or three masthead lights in a vertical line. Towing astern adds a yellow towing light above the stern light. Never pass between a tug and its tow.
- Pilot boats: white over red all-round at night. By day, AMP Resolution J.D. 02D-2003 requires the word PILOT on the hull and code flag H.
- Dredges and work vessels: red-white-red all-round, the lights of a vessel restricted in its ability to manoeuvre. Two reds mark the obstructed side and two greens the side you may pass. By day the shapes are ball-diamond-ball.
- Fishing boats: red over white when fishing, green over white when trawling. Keep clear.
- Ships at anchor in the Balboa and Cristóbal anchorages: anchor lights plus bright deck lights. They can hide a moving vessel behind them.
Unlit hazards: pangas, traps and logs
The commonest night hazard on Panama's coasts is a small open boat that shows no light, or only a flashlight when it hears you. Others are fish traps and longline floats, and floating logs and debris after heavy rain. None of them shows on radar reliably.
The rules recognise the risk in places. The AMP has restricted outboard boats to daylight hours during Carnaval, as in Bocas del Toro in 2020. Yachts operated bareboat under Resolution J.D. 089-2020 may not navigate at night at all. For your own boat:
- plan to arrive by dusk
- slow down near the coast and river mouths
- keep a dedicated lookout on the bow
- use a spotlight sparingly, so you do not blind other boats
See sargassum, logs and debris.
Day shapes and flags
- Black ball forward: a vessel at anchor. Recreational boats under 7 m outside a channel or anchorage are exempt. Using one is good practice at Taboga and Las Perlas.
- Cone, point down: a sailing boat under engine.
- Ball-diamond-ball: a vessel restricted in its ability to manoeuvre, such as a dredge, buoy tender or survey boat.
- Flag A (white and blue): divers down. Keep well clear and slow. Dive boats at Portobelo, Coiba and Taboga fly it.
- Flag H: pilot aboard, or a pilot boat.
Sound signals, including in a downpour
A rainy-season squall can bring visibility to near zero for twenty minutes. In restricted visibility a power-driven vessel underway sounds one prolonged blast at least every two minutes, and a vessel at anchor rings a bell or, on a small boat, makes another efficient sound. Manoeuvring signals are one short blast for altering to starboard, two for port and three for going astern. Five or more short blasts mean doubt or danger, and you will hear them from a ship if you are in its way.
Carry a horn that can be heard, and keep the VHF on 16, and on 12 in Canal waters. See VHF, DSC and EPIRB.
Distress signals
The COLREG Annex IV distress signals apply. They include red hand flares and parachute rockets, orange smoke, a continuous horn, SOS by light, slowly raising and lowering the arms, and a MAYDAY on VHF 16 or a DSC alert. The AMP checks for flares in its inspections, so keep them in date. What to do after the signal is in who to call in an emergency, and the rest of the kit in required safety equipment.
Your practical starting checklist
- Switch on and check every navigation light at the dock before you leave.
- Carry spare bulbs or a spare LED unit and a torch.
- Plan to be in port or anchored by dusk.
- Show an anchor light at night at every anchorage.
- Post a bow lookout when running near the coast after dark.
- Learn the lights of tugs, dredges and pilot boats before you go near a canal approach.
Frequently asked questions
Are Panama's navigation light rules the same as in the US?
Yes, as far as the International Rules go. Panama applies the COLREGs, and the US International Rules are the same text. Panama has no separate inland rule set.
Can I run my boat at night in Panama?
A private boat with working lights may, unless the AMP has issued a temporary restriction. Bareboat charter yachts may not under J.D. 089-2020, and during some holidays the AMP limits outboard boats to daylight hours.
What does a pilot boat look like?
At night it shows white over red all-round lights. By day it is marked PILOT and flies flag H. Keep clear: pilot boats come alongside ships at speed in the approaches.
¿Qué luces de navegación debe llevar una lancha?
Una lancha a motor de menos de 12 m lleva luces de costado roja y verde y una luz blanca de tope y alcance, o una blanca todo horizonte. Fondeada, lleva una blanca todo horizonte. Se encienden desde la puesta hasta la salida del sol y con visibilidad reducida.
En español: luces de navegación de la embarcación
Panamá aplica el COLREG, así que las luces de navegación son las internacionales:
- roja a babor y verde a estribor
- blanca de tope a proa y blanca de alcance a popa
- blanca todo horizonte cuando está fondeada
Revise las luces antes de cada salida, porque la sal y la humedad dañan las conexiones. Lleve bombillos de repuesto. De noche, cuidado con las pangas sin luces, las nasas y los troncos después de las lluvias. Las bengalas vigentes también forman parte de la inspección de la AMP.
The next question to answer
The enforcement collection. Read SENAN, the AMP and the rules.
COLREGs, speed and no-go zones. Read Boating rules in Panama.
Where the ships, tugs and dredges are. Read Small boats around the canal approaches.
Same topic in Florida: coming from the US? Compare Navigation Lights and Sound Signals.
Official resources
Use the relevant Panamanian authority for current requirements and fees. These resources are the next place to check; a practical recommendation is not an agency determination.
- IMO: COLREG Convention (lights, shapes, sound and distress signals) ↗
- AMP: Resolución J.D. 02D-2003, practicaje, Arts. 19–20 pilot-boat marking and signals (FAOLEX copy) ↗
- AMP: Resolución J.D. 089-2020, arrendamiento de yates (no night navigation for bareboat) ↗
- Panamá América: AMP regula tránsito de embarcaciones fuera de borda en carnaval (secondary, press, Feb 2020) ↗
- ACP: OP Notice to Shipping N-11-2026, small craft in Canal waters ↗