Cruising area · Panama Canal · Worldwide
Boat insurance for Panama Canal
The transit takes two days through three lock staircases and Gatún Lake. Yachts are usually rafted alongside another vessel or held in the centre of the chamber on four lines; four line handlers and an adviser are required on board. The typical damage happens during filling, when turbulence pushes the boat around, and while going alongside a tug or another vessel.
- Season
- all year
- Berth
- €€€ upper band
- Winter storage
- mind the storm season, move the boat in time
- Position
- 09° 6,0' N 079° 36,0' W
On the map
The map shows this area.
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Berths, season and winter storage
The canal operates year round; berths at Shelter Bay and on the Pacific side are in the upper price band. Waiting for a transit slot is normal and can take weeks. Yards are available on both sides.
What this means for your policy
The transit belongs to the cruising range for the Panama and Suez canals. Liability is the key point: the canal authority requires a declaration of cover, and damage to a commercial vessel or to the lock installation quickly reaches sums beyond a normal pleasure craft policy. Check that lock damage is expressly included.
Questions and answers
What owners ask about this area
The canal authority wants a statement of cover: can we get one?
Yes, we issue proof of your liability cover; the international insurance card is ready in ten languages. The sum is stated in your schedule: 10 million euros in Basis, 25 million in Basis-Plus and 50 million in Premium. For the transit the highest is the right one.
Is damage while locking expressly included?
On your own boat from Basis-Plus: striking the chamber wall, a lock gate or the vessel you are rafted to is a collision with a fixed or floating object and named there. What you do to the installation or to a commercial vessel is paid by the liability cover, in every tariff. The Basis tariff, a partial hull cover, does not cover your own damage.
And if the boat is detained?
For a security deposit abroad we provide a short-term loan: up to 50,000 euros in Basis-Plus and up to 200,000 euros in Premium, at most up to the value of the insured craft. The condition is an allegation connected with operating the boat that leads to its seizure.
Cruising range
In the calculator this area belongs to the cruising range: Panama- & Suezkanal
Hazard spots nearby
And one level down: the individual marinas, anchorages and mooring fields.
