Hi, Alaskadog.
I'm definitely trying to stay on top of this. If APIS is enforced as written, it will seriously impact the pleasure of cruising from island to island because of the extra time and effort it will take me to comply. Each time I wanted to sail from one island to another, I would have to find an Internet cafe and file a raft of data on APIS, within strict time limits, then go clear out thru customs and immigration, then go thru the reverse procedure when arriving at my destination.
Even worse is the threat of heavy fines for non-compliance or inadvertently filing incomplete or inaccurate data, whether through ignorance, happenstance or inability to submit the forms for lack of technologly. JRCC publications on the APIS requirements are not easy for a yachtie to follow or interpret--heavy beaureaucratese with a LOT of acroynms, and an underlying assumption that the reader is as knowledgeable as a cruise ship operator or commercial airline operator in these matters.
According to Chris Doyle, they could fine a yachtowner up to $250,000 EC ($92,500 US). "Oh", you might say, "they would never do that for someone who made an honest mistake." "Well", the enforcement officer says, "the law is the law! We need to make an example of someone. Pay up or lose your boat!"
Here's an account of an enforcement incident in the Grenadines from Chris Doyle's website:
ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES APPLY API Legislation includes: "Where a master of a vessel, intentionally or recklessly (a) fails to transmit the data .... or (b) transmits incomplete or false data, the master commits an offense and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of two hundred thousand dollars (EC$)"
This means that if a charter yacht arrived from Martinique without doing the proper clearance they could be fined $250,000 ECD. It will probably not be applied badly, but such legislation should not be on the books. People will not come if they think they might lose their yacht.
Contact their tourist offices let them know what you think! Email might be the better way. If we want to have a major effect we need to be very polite, there is no need to say how much yachts spend, they already know; what is much more effective is an honest assessment of how you feel about this, whether the thought of a 250 thousand dollar fine for filling in a form wrong scares you, and how it is likely to affect your travels. St. Vincent: 784-457-1502 or tourism@vincysurf.com speak or write to: Vida Bernard Bequia, 784-458-3286 speak to Shari This is the first enforcement report to come my way: A friend checked in at Union Island yesterday and was asked by Immigration if he had filed an APIS. My friend said no and the Immigration Officer sent him back to Clifton to fill one out.
The form requests a flag code, which may mean something to an airplane or a cruise ship but means nothing to a yacht. It also asks for the port code for the departure port and the arrival port -- these codes appear to be airport codes -- again, a yachtsman has no way of knowing what the airport code is for the airport closest to where he is checking in. The form also asks for a call sign, which is not required by all countries for operation of a radio, VHF or HF.
My friend completed the form and submitted it online and returned to Immigration. The Immigration Officer did not ask for a copy of the form (this is now different from the procedure in Antigua) and had no apparent way of checking to see if indeed the person had completed the form.