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Old 20-12-2007, 11:30   #1
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Charters Out of American Samoa or the Cook Islands ?

Hi folks does anyone know the rules of chartering your own boat out of american samoa or the cook islands? We are american citizens with New Zealand Residency. Cook islands is a NZ protectorate (or something like that) and their citizens are considered NZ citizens, and American Samoa, is, well, America I guess. I have US 100 ton Masters but no NZ ticket. Anyone have any experience? How do boats like the Soren Larson do it, since they are chartering people through a lot iof different countries? Just curious.

Thanks,

B&C
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Old 20-12-2007, 14:44   #2
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To contract a charter company to bareboat requires no ticket just the good will of the company. To charter out a boat requires no ticket. In US waters a skipper needs a ticket to accept money and command the boat or to conduct commercial enterprises (like fishing). I'm not clear which of these you are talking about.
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Old 20-12-2007, 16:24   #3
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Sorry - To clarify,

I think I may be asking two questions here -

The first question is:

What rules/prohibitions exist for a private boat sailing through the pacific that is bringing paying guests. I am specifically thinking of boats like the Auckland Based tall ship Soren Larsen, who does a trip right through the pacific and visits many countries. Do they have some sort of prior arrangement at each country, or do they have to pay some a fee/levy/tax for each paying passenger on their boat?

The second question is, as a US citizen, and a permanent resident of New New Zealand (can legally work here, etc), could I (we, anyone, in my situation) run a charter on my own privaely owned boat in the Cook Islands or American Samoa? To make the hypothetical sitation a little easier, we could say that there would be 6 passengers or less. I know the 6 pack and other US licenses does not apply to NZ, but I dont want to get on a tangent.

Please note this is an idle Friday-before-holiday question, and I am just curious if anyone knows the rules for certain.

Cheers,
Brian
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Old 20-12-2007, 16:25   #4
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oops forgot to add that I am talking about crewed charters not bareboat.
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Old 21-12-2007, 05:14   #5
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Not all countries require a license for the skipper to "pass through", but they still clear customs and immigration like anyone else plus you are a business not a pleasure boat. Each country has it's own rules.

When a license is required as in US waters it all goes away once you leave and enter international waters. The paper no longer means anything (sort of).

What is unstated in your question is "Can I get insurance for such activities?" The idea of being uninsured with any kind of venture opens you up to untold trouble even if losing everything you own may not be of concern. The criminal implications of the whole problem might place you in jail if you failed to have insurance if anything happened. If you can satisfy the insurance company then you'll be almost all the way there. You really should draw up a business plan and sit down with an agent to help you figure out how you can make this all work.

Most countries will recognize an active USCG license but you may still need to apply and pay for one in another country if it might be required. As a commercial vessel all the customs immigration rules may also be slightly different than recreational boaters. All passengers will be required to be documented as well as the boat with additional rules for the crew. The operation of a business in multiple countries is not without a fair amount of paper work. I hate to say it but there is no one size fits all ports rule. It's all one country at a time.

There are no rules for certain. They can all change. In the age of the war on terrorism many far away places are under political pressure to demonstrate that they are prepared too.
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Old 27-06-2010, 18:14   #6
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SAILING SAMOA

Did you set up a charter business in Am Samoa?
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Old 19-07-2010, 14:05   #7
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Charter licence in the S Pacific

Hi Everyone,

We are sailing round the world with my girlfriend, meanwhile offering charters to finance the trip.

I know there are a lot of other sailors doing the same business, and I would like to know if there is a legal way to do it. If I only want to stay 3-4 months in each country, how can I get a charter licence for that period?
I know that it is different in each country, but I would like to collect as much info as possible.

All help is very welcome!!!

Thanks,
Tamas
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