Legal and other requirements for Blue Water Cruising

[Pierreinsa]

Hi everyone,
Other than preparing the yacht and one's self for cruising into international waters. What law, regulations and other formal preparations are required, before leaving the safety of home waters and venturing out to foreign lands? For example, registration, both personal yacht and health insurance, what other documentation is a must-have before heading off?
If this is covered in another forum, please advise?
Thanks in advance..

PS I would be heading out of Australian waters..

[john61ct]

Sailing **away** is not the problem, it's knowing the regs that pertain to your next destination(s), how long allowed to stay, taxes & fees. . .

Passports of course, visa issues, customs e.g. drugs, just like any international arrivals. Health insurance usually up to you.

For the boat, besides national registration, insurance may be required, best to keep a detailed log.

[Zzmeyer]

A really good place to check is noonsite.com. They do a great job of explaining variance country rules. As John61ct said, the big issue is where you are going. It won't take you long to figure out what you need to do in your home country. Half the answers you get here on CF will be correct (tough sometimes figuring out what half), but each country is different. Mess it up and it can be expensive.

[Paul L]

Australia (and New Zealand) have some odd requirements. For Australian registered boats that are leaving on extended offshore cruises you are supposed to export your yacht with customs before leaving.
For NZ registered boats leaving NZ you have to get and pass Cat 1 safety survey.

[john61ct]

Nanny state trying to reverse Darwin's Law, amazing, stupid and IMO criminal.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Nanny state trying to reverse Darwin's Law, amazing, stupid and IMO criminal.

What is your problem with requiring exporting?

[Pierreinsa]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Australia (and New Zealand) have some odd requirements. For Australian registered boats that are leaving on extended offshore cruises you are supposed to export your yacht with customs before leaving.
For NZ registered boats leaving NZ you have to get and pass Cat 1 safety survey.

Thanks Paul, So what are the ramifications if you don't "export" your yacht?

[Pierreinsa]

Hi everyone,
thanks all who have replied. After reading the replies, and doing further research. I have found the following regarding registration from Australia if intending to leave for foreign climes.
From the AMSA website https://www.amsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/amsa451.pdf
Chapter 3
Obligation to register Australian owned ships
1. Section 12 of the Act outlines the obligations to register are that ships greater than 24 metres in tonnage length are required to be registered on the Australian General Shipping Register if they are Australian-owned ships. Where an Australian-owned ship is operated by a foreign resident under demise charter, an exemption may be granted.
2. Section 68 of the Act outlines that unregistered ships shall not depart from an Australian port to a place outside of Australia; and under section 69 of the Act, when an unregistered ship is at a foreign port the ship shall not depart from that port on a voyage unless a registration certificate or provisional registration certificate is granted.

[Wotname]

See the Australian Border Force website for information about departing from and arriving in Australia.

https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-...pleasure-craft

[ilenart]

this looks like a pretty good summary.

https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-...pleasure-craft.

Regarding export it states:

“Masters of Australian or imported vessels may be required to 'enter' the vessel for export if the craft is to be sold or positioned overseas.“

I assume this applies on the basis that you are not planning on returning the vessel to Australia(?). I assume the correct answer would be “ yes sir of course we are planning on returning” . Anyone have experience with this particular issue?

Ilenart

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Pierreinsa

Thanks Paul, So what are the ramifications if you don't "export" your yacht?

I'm not an Aussie, but Aussie friends say that when you export the boat you list all the equipment on it. When you re-enter the boat and all the previously listed equipment is exempt from GST or duty.

[Greg Mason]

Not sure about requirements, but vaccinations for international travel are a good idea. We were given the prophylaxis for elephantiasis when we entered French Polynesia. We also carried tooth repair materials, antibiotics and even a prescription for morphine. We did carry full liability insurance, as some countries required it for marina stays.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Paul L

I'm not an Aussie, but Aussie friends say that when you export the boat you list all the equipment on it. When you re-enter the boat and all the previously listed equipment is exempt from GST or duty.

Exactly, the "export" registration essentially is a "reentry" duty free listing. Not sure about Aussieland rules but some countries have limited periods of time when a good can be taken out of country and then return duty free into the country, e.g., three years. Devil being in the details.

And similarly there is the typical temporary importation registration of vessels and associated equipment and personal goods when you enter a country so as to be availed a limited time period of waiver from paying import duties and VAT, etc.

All issues being very country specific as was indicated in previous posts.

Enjoy your travels.

[HBrew]

As stated above, read each country’s requirements on Noonsite. But some general tips:
1. Key documents you’ll need everywhere include ship’s papers and insurance (especially for marinas). It’s also good to prepare a fact sheet about your boat - length, displacement, beam, HIN number, MMSI, Call Sign, motor(s) make, model and serial number, dinghy serial number, outboard serial number etc etc
2. Prepare a laminated copy of your ships papers - you’ll need this everywhere and some places will hold on to it for certain purposes
3. Go online and make a ship’s stamp with your boat name, registration number, your name and a space for initials
4. Prepare a waterproof bag that can hold all your official docs which won’t mind sitting on the floor of the dinghy
5. Have a general plan of places you plan to visit, review the requirements well ahead of time on Noonsite so you know when you have to apply for the various permits they may demand. Some places you can just show up, others, like Galapagos or French Polynesia or the EU require some careful planning to ensure you don’t run fowl of immigration, customs and general tourism requirements and that you don’t spend lots of time just waiting for administrative processes instead of actually sailing. If you know the passports of your crew this will help as requirements vary by passport.
6. Scan all your key documents as PDF’s and organize them in files on your computer so they are always ready to be sent by email. Having a small printer or even better scanner/printer onboard helps a lot so you can make paper copies of documents required as you go.

Hope this helps.

Hamish

[akshiena]

Originally Posted by HBrew

As stated above, read each country’s requirements on Noonsite. But some general tips:
1. Key documents you’ll need everywhere include ship’s papers and insurance (especially for marinas). It’s also good to prepare a fact sheet about your boat - length, displacement, beam, HIN number, MMSI, Call Sign, motor(s) make, model and serial number, dinghy serial number, outboard serial number etc etc
2. Prepare a laminated copy of your ships papers - you’ll need this everywhere and some places will hold on to it for certain purposes
3. Go online and make a ship’s stamp with your boat name, registration number, your name and a space for initials
4. Prepare a waterproof bag that can hold all your official docs which won’t mind sitting on the floor of the dinghy
5. Have a general plan of places you plan to visit, review the requirements well ahead of time on Noonsite so you know when you have to apply for the various permits they may demand. Some places you can just show up, others, like Galapagos or French Polynesia or the EU require some careful planning to ensure you don’t run fowl of immigration, customs and general tourism requirements and that you don’t spend lots of time just waiting for administrative processes instead of actually sailing. If you know the passports of your crew this will help as requirements vary by passport.
6. Scan all your key documents as PDF’s and organize them in files on your computer so they are always ready to be sent by email. Having a small printer or even better scanner/printer onboard helps a lot so you can make paper copies of documents required as you go.

Hope this helps.

Hamish

Hamish,
Your suggestions above should indeed be laminated for any new boat owner..