Just got back from Antigua, after launching "The Belle" for the season. When I cleared out, I learned from the immigration officer that Antigua was no longer enforcing APIS on small yachts. She said that the requirements still apply to yachts
over 100 tons. My concern continues to be that, with the laws on the books, enforcement could be re-instated with no notice, and failure to comply is subject to fines of $200,000 to $300,000 EC dollars.
Sally Erdle, editor of the Caribbean Compass, has done a thorough job of documenting the lastest in the November issue. LINK:
Working Together
Here's what she wrote about each individual islands' approach:
Island by Island As this issue of Compass goes to press, the current situation to the best of our knowledge is as follows.ˇ Antigua & Barbuda, which had been asking yacht skippers to go to an internet café and fill out APIS forms this summer under its Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Act, 2007, has now suspended enforcement of this requirement for all yachts.ˇ St. Kitts and Nevis are not applying an APIS requirement at the moment and according to a correspondent have no plans to do so in the immediate future: "They think it would cause confusion among the yachts. They particularly appreciate that the 24-hour rule cannot work for them with yachts coming from non-API islands like St. Barts."ˇ In Dominica, "this would not be implemented any time soon," according to one official. Dominica, being located between the non-API islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, would be especially vulnerable to the 24-hour rule.ˇ St. Lucia has not yet enforced its APIS legislation either, and Keats Compton, as President of the Marine Industry Association of St. Lucia, is writing to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Tourism formally requesting the suspension of St. Lucia's Immigration Act of 2007 as it applies to yachts.ˇ St. Vincent & the Grenadines Immigration officers asked yachts to fill out APIS forms online for a brief period in October, and one or more boats arriving from Grenada waters were reportedly turned away at Union Island because they hadn't filed API forms before leaving Grenada. However, Melodye Pompa of the Caribbean Safety & Security Net says that yachts clearing out of Union Island have not reported any mention of APIS. The issue of API for yachts is set to be the top agenda item for an October 29th meeting of SVG's Tourism Advisory Board.ˇ Grenada has not enforced its Immigration (Amendment) Act of 2007 in regard to yachts.ˇ Trinidad & Tobago's legislation requiring APIS enforcement expired on June 30th and has not been renewed. With relatively little visiting yacht traffic, especially at this time of year, we've had no feedback from Guyana, Barbados or Jamaica. For updates on the APIS situation visit the Safety & Security Net's NEWS and Chris Doyles' site NEW APIS REGULATIONS.
BTW, it was a
great 52 nm downwind sail from Antigua to Nevis, in 16-18 kt winds, with sunny skies. Life is good!