Royal Caribbean Group Proposes Ship Repair Yard for Panama's Pacific Coast
Officials from Panama are responding positively to the concept of creating a shipyard on the Pacific coast of the country. Royal Caribbean Group met with the president of Panama, Jose Raul Mulino, and other government executives to outline its proposal, which would see a yard with capabilities to handle large ships in operation by 2031.
Royal Caribbean is proposing that the shipyard be established in the Punta Pierdra sector, near the city of Puerto Armuelles, which is located in the northwest near the border with Costa Rica. They proposed a 130,000-ton floating dry dock with a length of 400 meters (over 1,300 feet), which would be able to accommodate the company’s largest cruise ships.
During the presentation, the company explained that the rationale would be to create a repair facility to service ships on the Pacific coast. It noted that currently, large ships have to go to Asia for their maintenance and dry dockings. By placing the yard in Panama, the company could service its ships sailing on the Pacific coast and would also have the option of bringing ships through the Panama Canal to the yard. They noted that the yard would also be available to other large ships, such as container vessels, which also do not have suitable repair facilities in the area.
Panama has a smaller shipyard in Balboa near the Pacific terminus of the Panama Canal. The country has been working to revitalize that yard, but it only has dry dock capabilities for smaller ships.
According to the Panama Maritime Authority, President Mulino affirmed that he will support the effort to make the Pacific shipyard a reality while noting that investments could start this year. He highlighted that the project would contribute to elevating Panama’s strategic importance as a maritime hub. Mulino also said it would create jobs, helping to rescue an area that has been abandoned for years.
Royal Caribbean estimated the operation could create 500 to 800 jobs in the coming years.
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In the 1990s, Royal Caribbean and Carnival Corporation joined together to invest with Freeport in the Bahamas to create a shipyard that could handle cruise ships close to their homeport in South Florida. The companies remain the primary investors in Grand Bahamas Shipyard, which is currently completing a large expansion. In February, the yard undertook the first dry dock project with the first of two new large dry docks built in China. The first dry dock, East End, is 357 meters long and is capable of lifting 93,500 tons. The second dry dock, expected to arrive in 2026, called Lucayan, is due to arrive at Freeport in 2026.
Having a capable shipyard on the Pacific coast could help the company pursue expansion and the use of larger ships in the region. Currently, they are more limited with the capabilities on the Pacific coast, where, for example, Carnival Cruise Line had to partially dismantle the funnel of one of its cruise ships to reach a dry dock for urgent repairs.