PANAMA CITY, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. and Panamanian officials made one of Central America's biggest drug busts on Wednesday, seizing 11.4 tonnes of cocaine worth an estimated $200 million on a ship bound for the United States.

U.S. Coast Guard and Panama's anti-drug police stopped the boat in the Pacific Ocean after it had left Panama and arrested eight Venezuelan men aboard, Panama's anti-drug chief Jose Ayu told reporters.

"This is definitely one of the biggest seizures in recent years," Ayu said. "It was a tracking operation and we were able to capture more than 11 tonnes of cocaine in international waters, between Costa Rica and Nicaragua."

The cocaine was stashed in some 400 bags around the Panamanian-registered ship, Ayu said.

Typically, drug seizures in Central America range from a few pounds (kg) to a couple of tonnes. Costa Rica uncovered 2.5 tonnes in November, a record for the country.

In May 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard found 13 tonnes of cocaine aboard a Belize-registered vessel off Mexico's Pacific coast. It is thought to be the largest-ever maritime drug seizure on record.

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