Published 12 years ago, updated 6 years ago

See the Panama Guide for a more detailed report on this Licence.

There has been some confusion recently in Panama amongst the cruising community regarding the Dinghy (small boat) Licence required for Panamanian waters. This is not required by visiting cruisers, it is for local residents only (including foreigners who are not Panamanians and who are residents in the Republic of Panama).

The local Port Captain in Bocas del Toro, Dario Vanhorne, went out of his way to say their efforts are NOT focused on the members of the cruiser community who simply use their dinghy to get from their sailboat to shore. He said “we are focusing on the people who are full-time residents in Bocas del Toro, who use their boats as part of their normal daily activities, to get around from one island to another. They need to have a boat license, just as the Panamanians do.”

He also made it clear that they know the difference between who are the short term cruisers, and who are the long term residents. The long term residents need the license, and the short term cruisers do not.

Our thanks to Karsten Staffeldt for bringing this information to our attention.