A one-page crew CV layout in English and Spanish for deckhand, stew, cook and mate jobs in Panama. Fill it in once in each language, then send it as a PDF and take printed copies to the dock. Have your AMP licence, course certificates and two captains' permission to give their numbers ready.
Fill in the fields below, then print the worksheet or download your entries as a text file. Entries stay on this page until you leave unless you download them. Don’t enter passport, card or medical details; keep copies of those separately.
How to fill it in
Write the Spanish page first if you are applying to a Panamanian operator, then a matching English page. In Panama a CV is usually called a hoja de vida. Keep each version to one page, with short lines and no paragraphs.
What goes at the top
- The AMP licence. SENAN and the AMP check crew papers on the water, so an operator will not put an unlicensed hand on a paid trip. The marinero licence comes from the AMP's Dirección General de Gente de Mar. Write the grade and expiry date, not the number.
- Licence names stay in Spanish. Write marinero, operador de lanchas de 2da clase or patrón de nave de placer on both pages. A wrong licence name looks worse than a small grammar slip.
- Work status. If you are foreign, say plainly what you hold. Employers have to fit foreign staff inside the 10% cap and need a MITRADEL permit for each. Read foreign crew work permits so you describe it correctly.
What to leave off
- Cédula, passport and licence numbers. Show the documents at interview and keep copies separately.
- Health details, date of birth and marital status. "Current medical certificate" is enough.
Words that trip people up
- Deckhand: marinero. Lines and fenders: cabos y defensas. Anchoring: fondeo. Line handler: pasacabos. Day charter: chárter de día or paseo en yate.
- STCW stays STCW in Spanish. The basic course is curso básico de seguridad marítima.
- Ask a Spanish-speaking captain to read your Spanish page once.
Sending it
- Many operators take CVs by WhatsApp. Send a PDF named with your name and role, with a two-line message in Spanish: your licence, when you can start, who referred you.
- Then go to the dock in person. A reference from a captain at Flamenco or La Playita carries more weight than a letter from a company abroad that nobody here can reach.
- Line-handling for a cruiser before their transit is a good way to earn a first Panama reference. If you are paid for it, you need a licence; see canal line-handler work.
Read the companion guide
Before using this resource, read Yacht crew CVs and interviews in Panama (bilingual tips).
Use it alongside these guides
Yacht crew CVs and interviews in Panama (bilingual tips)
A Panama yacht crew CV is one page in Spanish and English: AMP licence and courses first, then boats, skills, languages and dock references.
Yacht crew jobs in Panama: where the work is, what pays
Yacht crew jobs in Panama are on Panama City day-charter boats, private yachts, San Blas catamarans, fishing lodges and canal line-handling. Licence first.
Becoming a deckhand (marinero) in Panama
To work as a deckhand in Panama, get the AMP marinero licence: medical, ID, photos, fiscal stamps and safety training. Then get hired on the docks.
STCW basic training in Panama: who needs it, where
STCW basic training is four courses (OMI 1.19, 1.20, 1.21, 1.13) from an AMP-recognised centre. Which Panama licences require it, where to take it.
Foreign yacht crew work permits in Panama
Foreign crew need a MITRADEL work permit and lawful Migración status to work for a Panamanian employer, within a 10% cap (15% for specialists).