Abstract On the eastern margin of the Panama Basin, the Nazca oceanic plate converges towards the continental plate of South America at approximately 53 mm a −1 . Subduction processes are accompanied by the presence of anomalous bathymetric elements including the Sandra Ridge. This east–west-orientated ridge is catalogued as an aborted rift derived from a magmatic spreading axis that was active between 12 and 9 Ma. Seismic activity within this structure is considered evidence of fault reactivation and tectonism. Once the structure reached the subduction trench several submarine landslides were triggered. Run-out lengths of these submarine landslides are perpendicular to the convergence of the structure with some units spreading and forming a wide fan that reaches tens of kilometres to the north and south of the trench. The area affected by the three main landslides varies between 130 and 300 km 2 approximately, with relatively superficial earthquakes (<33 km) and with magnitudes that reach up to M w 7.2. The morphology of the landslides suggests a retrogressive nature with younger events proximal to shore. This paper presents estimates of the age of these landslides and discusses sources of uncertainty regarding these times of occurrence.