Mexico confiscated 380 yachts - MERGED THREADS

[Stumble]

I would immediately contact your embassy in country and get them on the problem. Seizing foreign flagged vessels is a violation of a number of treaties.It may also be worth contacting the US embassy and get them involved, since there are likely more US vessels involved than those from NZ. taking them all as a package may get faster results than dealing with them one by one.


Flying Cloud,

No it doesn't have to be published to be true, but I work in the maritime legal field. If someone seizes a single ship locally I typically hear of it in a matter of hours, for Mexico to seize 400 boats in one port without there being a news report is unusual.

[Stumble]

What I see after doing some more digging is that about 400 yachts nation wide were seized temporarily as part of a nation wide crackdown on undocumented, or mis documented vessels. While it may cause some initial concern, this looks like a move by the Mexican Government to make the rules uniform, and enforced evenly across the country.

Certainly any seizure of this many boats is a cause for concern, but is far from what I first understood, that 400 boats were seized in just
Cabo San Lucas.

[Celestialsailor]

You know...I think people just need to relax a little. I am in La Paz and we were informed that they are on their way here. They want to see that everything is current and numbers match that of the TIP and USCG documentation. I can't count how many people I have spoke with that are still wondering what a TIP is and do not have one.
I think the government here is getting tired of the sloppy paperwork people with boats have who have had their boats in marina's and dry storage for years.
They are not confiscating them. They are on hold until the owners can prove that everything is current.

[SkiprJohn]

Glad you were careful with the paperwork.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Tarzan

I agree more details would be nice and the whole thing is impossible to understand and thus to act on. But it is real and if there are more facts they have not been shared with me.

We only received an email from the marina telling us 20 boats cannot leave the dock. The message was generic and since I have enquired to the reason for my boat being impounded and the marina representative's answer was "I have no idea". As said our documents are in order and the marina presented them during the audit

Meanwhile the boat is still in its slip and according to our slip neighbors she has no evidence of being impounded.

If it was me I would head down to the marina on a Saturday night / early Sunday morning (like pre-dawn) and motor the 60nm up to San Diego. The guys walking the dock aren't going to do anything and Mexico is not notorious for it's Johnny-on-the-spot law enforcement, especially on a Sunday morning.

If Mexico wants to be pissed at you that's one thing, you can deal with them via the consulate in San Diego. But if you're talking about wading into the Byzantine judicial system (which will all be in Spanish), I'd give some serious thought to doing a cut and run.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Glad you were careful with the paperwork.

Me too but it was only by accident I found out about the TIP. But I know in Ensenada the Marinas there do a good job directing you to the right place to obtain one. I did mine online because a fellow cruiser told me about the site at which to do it. $50 and 3 days later, I had it in hand.

[zeehag]

i was under the impression this was 2013.
did these impoundments happen last year or this year.
the cars were done this past spring, 2013

[DeepFrz]

The OP was going to ask the Ops. to combine the two threads but I guess he didn't. It should have been 2013.

Mexico confiscated 380 yachts?? Any confirmation?

[DeepFrz]

Thanks Ops.

[zboss]

OK, what is TIP?

[Paul Elliott]

I have merged two threads on this same topic. One of them was titled "Boats Impounded Mexico 2012", but the year was in error -- should have been 2013.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by zboss

OK, what is TIP?

tip is temporary importation permit. it is required for all boats remaining in mexico over 6 months.

[DeepFrz]

Thanks Paul.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

If it was me I would head down to the marina on a Saturday night / early Sunday morning (like pre-dawn) and motor the 60nm up to San Diego. The guys walking the dock aren't going to do anything and Mexico is not notorious for it's Johnny-on-the-spot law enforcement, especially on a Sunday morning.

If Mexico wants to be pissed at you that's one thing, you can deal with them via the consulate in San Diego. But if you're talking about wading into the Byzantine judicial system (which will all be in Spanish), I'd give some serious thought to doing a cut and run.

Well then try to enter into Mexico again...BAD ADICE to just pick up and Run...very BAD.

People need to calm down, relax, and get their paperwork in order. How hard it is to get a TIP, have a current passport, Doc/Registration and Visa? For heavens sake...we are not talking about a $1000 cruising permit here folks.

This type of cruiser panic isn't new. Every few years the Mexican authorities do sweeps through Marina's (I remember one in Mazatlan when we were there in 2009) and check for TIPs and they fined dozens of boats without them OR boats that had them but were not properly displayed.

[Teknav]

Here's a "TIP"...Not many US private pilots fly to Mexico...the reason...private pilots are treated/questioned as if they were drug smugglers, irrespective of their FAA documentation. At a whim, one's aircraft can be confiscated. Why would you visit a place that is so maligned and corrupt? Cheap, in the long run, is very expensive! Stay away!

Mauritz
Plenty of other islands to visit!