One of the most talked-about megayachts in the world, Octopus took in the sunset a week ago today just off of Panama City, on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. (Thanks to Kim Kavin for the photo.) The Canal is familiar territory for the 414-footer, as she’s transited it at least three times within the past year, according to Yachtspotter.com.
Crossing the Canal isn’t a matter of simply pulling up and locking through. Considering it handles an annual average of 14,000 ships and boats, slots need to be booked in advance–and if you’re late, you may not only miss your slot, you pay a tidy $440 for “delay of transit” and an additional $50 if you need moorage. Then there’s the “buffer fee,” payable if you damage the locks or need a tow. And these are in addition to the required transit fees, which for yachts are based mostly on length. For example, yachts 51 to 80 feet LOA pay $750, while megayachts from 81 to 100 feet pay $1,000. If your yacht is 101 to 125 feet LOA, it’ll cost you $1,500. Anything larger than that requires visiting the Panama Canal Commission Web site to determine the proper fee, since displacement is taken into account. Suffice it to say that something of Octopus’ magnitude would be several thousand dollars.
Seems like a heckuva lot of money? Maybe. But ask anyone who has made the transit and cruised even half as ambitiously as Octopus has, and they’ll tell you the experience of seeing the world is priceless.
Interesting enough, as I was preparing this post, the Panama Canal Authority announced that as of February 1, a new reservation system for increased efficiency and slot availability–and to simplify charges–will go into effect. Among the changes will be fixed booking fees, “based on the vessel’s size or dimensions.
Hopefully that’s good news for Octopus (and megayachts of all sizes); even billionaires are budget-conscious, after all.
Leave a Reply