AMP: Autoridad Marítima de Panamá
What it does for boaters. The AMP is Panama's maritime authority. Its Registro Público de Naves registers vessel ownership, mortgages and liens; its Marina Mercante directorate issues the patente de navegación (the flag certificate) and handles port state control; its Gente de Mar directorate issues seafarer licences and the libreta de embarco. Port captaincies (capitanías de puerto) issue the zarpe (departure clearance) and the cruising permit for foreign yachts. If you buy, register, flag, crew or clear a boat in Panama, you deal with the AMP.
- Website: amp.gob.pa (Spanish). Key sections: Registro Público de Naves, Gente de Mar, Puertos e Industrias Marítimas Auxiliares, Consultas en línea (look up a vessel or a seafarer licence).
- Head office: Diablo Heights, Calle Demetrio Porras, Balboa, Ancón, Panama City.
- Phone: +507 501-5000. Email: [email protected]. The site also lists emergency lines.
- Local offices for Panama City are in marine offices and contacts in Panama City.
ACP: Autoridad del Canal de Panamá
What it does for boaters. The ACP operates the canal and sets the rules for small craft up to 125 ft (38.1 m), which transit as "handlines". Its Admeasurement Unit inspects and approves your vessel, Marine Traffic schedules the transit, and Accounts Receivable takes the toll and the refundable buffer. The ACP also publishes the official tide tables for Amador and Limón Bay.
- Website: pancanal.com. The small-craft procedure is ACP form 4352, "Procedures for securing a handline transit", and the maritime tariff pages list the current tolls.
- Admeasurement Unit: Pacific [email protected]; Atlantic [email protected]. Marine Traffic scheduler: +507 272-4202. Payments (FICC): +507 272-7305, [email protected].
- On arrival, call the signal station on VHF 12, 13 or 16 (Flamenco on the Pacific side, Cristóbal on the Atlantic side).
- Read the canal transit collection before you file.
SENAN: Servicio Nacional Aeronaval
What it does for boaters. SENAN is Panama's coast guard and naval air service, part of the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública. It boards and inspects boats at sea, enforces maritime law, runs search and rescue, and polices the borders and the comarcas. If a grey patrol boat calls you on the radio, that is SENAN. Expect to show the boat's documents, the captain's licence, life jackets and the zarpe or cruising permit.
- Website: senan.gob.pa (Spanish).
- Emergencies: call 911 and ask for SENAN, or hail on VHF 16. Stations at Amador, Colón, Bocas del Toro and Pedregal cover the main boating areas; confirm the current local numbers with the station or on the SENAN site.
- What a boarding looks like: enforcement in Panama. Our Florida guide to preparing for a Coast Guard boarding covers the same habits.
ATP: Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá
What it does for boaters. The ATP registers tourism businesses in the Registro Nacional de Turismo. Marinas and "servicios de transporte turístico marítimo" (charters, boat tours, water taxis for tourists) register here under Decreto Ejecutivo 82 of 2008; the ATP page lists minimum requirements such as mooring infrastructure, fuel, radio, fire equipment and sanitation. Registration is what lets a tour business advertise and operate legally alongside its AMP vessel and crew paperwork.
- Website: atp.gob.pa, section "Asistencia, Licencias y Certificaciones" → Registro Nacional de Turismo → Registro de marinas y servicios de transportes turísticos marítimos.
- Office: Edificio BICSA Financial Center, piso 29, Avenida Balboa, Panama City. Phone: +507 526-7000, 8:00–16:00. Email listed: [email protected].
- How this fits with the rest of the paperwork: charter licensing in Panama.
ARAP: Autoridad de los Recursos Acuáticos de Panamá
What it does for boaters. ARAP manages fisheries and aquaculture. Sport-fishing licences for boats and anglers, commercial fishing licences and fish-landing records go through ARAP (its online window is vu.arap.gob.pa). Whale- and dolphin-watching rules are shared between ARAP and MiAmbiente; operators need to follow approach distances and seasonal rules, especially in Las Perlas and the Gulf of Chiriquí from roughly July to October.
- Website: arap.gob.pa (Spanish), section Trámites. A WhatsApp line is published on the home page; the agency announced a move to new headquarters at Plaza Concordia, so confirm the office address before visiting.
- Confirm current sport-fishing licence fees with ARAP; the public pages we opened do not list them.
- See wildlife rules in Panama and charter activities for the operator side.
MiAmbiente: Ministerio de Ambiente
What it does for boaters. MiAmbiente runs the national protected-areas system, which includes Parque Nacional Coiba, Parque Nacional Marino Golfo de Chiriquí, Portobelo, Isla Bastimentos and the mangrove reserves around Panama City. Entry fees for protected areas are paid through its online reservation portal, and anchoring, fishing and landing inside parks follow park rules. It also handles environmental complaints (line 311) and environmental impact approvals for marinas and docks.
- Website: miambiente.gob.pa (Spanish), with a contact page at /contactenos/.
- See environment rules for boaters in Panama.
Migración: Servicio Nacional de Migración
What it does for boaters. Migración stamps crew and passengers in and out when a yacht arrives from abroad, and issues the residence and work permits that foreign captains and crew need to be employed here. Arriving yachts clear immigration at the port of entry (Colón, Bocas del Toro, Panama City/Balboa, Pedregal, Puerto Armuelles and others); many crews use an agent for this.
- Website: migracion.gob.pa (Spanish), sections Requisitos Turistas and Visas.
- Office: Vía Ricardo J. Alfaro, Panama City. Phone: +507 504-3580. Email: [email protected].
- See arrival clearance and, for crew, working as crew in Panama.
Aduanas: Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas
What it does for boaters. Customs handles permanent import of a boat (duty and ITBMS on the vessel's value) and the temporary import that lets a foreign-flagged yacht stay in Panama without paying duty while its cruising permit is current. If you buy a foreign-flagged boat in Panama and want to keep it here under a Panamanian flag, you will deal with Aduanas as well as the AMP.
- Website: aduanas.gob.pa (Spanish).
- Confirm current duty rates and temporary-import rules with Aduanas or a licensed customs broker (corredor de aduanas); they change and the public pages are hard to navigate.
- See international and foreign-flag purchases.
Congreso General Guna (Guna Yala / San Blas)
What it does for boaters. Guna Yala is a comarca with its own government, the Congreso General Guna. It sets and collects visitor and anchoring fees for the San Blas islands, decides where yachts may anchor, and bans some activities (spearfishing, taking coconuts, anchoring on certain reefs). Fees are paid at the entry point and, on some islands, to the local community; keep receipts.
- Website: gunayala.org.pa (Spanish).
- Liaison office in Panama City: Ancón, La Boca, Avenida Julio Linares, Edificio 796-X. Phone: +507 314-1513 / 314-1293. Email: [email protected].
- Confirm current fees with the Congreso; the website we opened does not publish them.
SINAPROC: Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil
What it does for boaters. SINAPROC is civil protection. It issues weather and swell warnings (avisos de prevención) that close beaches and advise small craft to stay in port, coordinates disaster response and runs the emergency operations centre. For a boating emergency you call 911 and SENAN; SINAPROC is where the warnings come from.
- Website: sinaproc.gob.pa. Emergency lines: 911, +507 520-4426 / 4427 / 4429, WhatsApp 6998-4809 (24 hours). Office: Panamá Pacífico, Edificios 113–117, +507 504-4728.
- See emergencies on the water in Panama.
Municipio de Panamá and other local offices
What it does for boaters. The Alcaldía de Panamá issues the municipal side of a business licence (and collects municipal taxes) for a charter or tour company based in the city, and manages public waterfront such as the Cinta Costera. The Amador causeway and its marinas sit on former Canal Zone land administered through national bodies, so check who controls a given dock before assuming the municipality does.
- Website: mupa.gob.pa.
- Local detail: Amador causeway boating guide and boat ramps and fuel docks in Panama City.
Common questions
Which agency do I call in an emergency at sea?
911, and ask for SENAN. On VHF, call on channel 16. Near the canal entrances the ACP signal stations also listen on 12, 13 and 16.
Who issues the cruising permit for a foreign yacht?
The AMP, through the port captaincy at your port of entry. Confirm the current fee and validity with the capitanía; agents in Colón, Bocas and Panama City handle it for a fee.
Do I need the ATP to run boat tours?
Yes, if you carry tourists for money. Register as a maritime tourist transport service with the ATP, and keep the vessel and crew compliant with the AMP.
Where are the agency offices in Panama City?
See marine offices and contacts in Panama City for addresses by task.
En español: preguntas frecuentes
¿Qué hace la Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP)?
La AMP registra las naves (Registro Público de Naves), emite la patente de navegación, otorga licencias a la gente de mar y, a través de las capitanías de puerto, emite el zarpe y el permiso de navegación para yates extranjeros. Teléfono +507 501-5000, correo [email protected].
¿Qué es el SENAN?
El Servicio Nacional Aeronaval es la autoridad que patrulla el mar, inspecciona embarcaciones y realiza búsqueda y rescate. En una emergencia marque 911 o llame por VHF canal 16.
¿Quién regula el canal?
La Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP). Las embarcaciones de hasta 125 pies transitan como "handlines" siguiendo el procedimiento del formulario 4352.
¿Necesito registrarme en la ATP para hacer tours en lancha?
Sí. Los servicios de transporte turístico marítimo se inscriben en el Registro Nacional de Turismo de la Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá, además de cumplir con la AMP.