US Dept Of State Antarctic permit process

[lamadriver]

Any one muddled through this process with the State Department and the EPA
or know of anyone who has sucesfully written a permit.

if so Id love a PM> Id like to submit this only once

regards

LD

[svHyLyte]

Considering that the Antarctic is neither a US possession nor protectorate, the US Government has no say in matters pertaining thereto. If you choose to go there, you don't need permission from anyone, though why one would do so is rather beyond me. The swimming's lousy (to start with), anchorages are tenuous, at best; and, the weather generally is for the birds--penguins!

[lamadriver]

Well the US may not own it but it sure has a territoral claim and is a signatory to the Antarctic treaty.......

Dear Mr. ..........,

We acknowledge your request for information regarding a potential expedition to the Antarctic zone this coming year. The Antarctic Treaty and the Environmental Protocol establish certain obligations on the Treaty Parties with regard to expeditions to the Antarctic Treaty area (i.e., the area south of 60˚ South Latitude, including all ice shelves). Article VII(5)(a) of the Treaty obliges each Party to give advance notification of “all expeditions to and within Antarctica, on the part of its ships or nationals, and all expeditions to Antarctica organized in or proceeding from its territory.”

The Department of State uses the DS-4131 Advance Notification Form – Tourist and Other Non-Governmental Activities in the Antarctic Treaty Area to collect the information it needs to make the determination required by the U.S. treaty obligation (ensure the form you use has an expiration of April 2018). As such, all U.S. nationals who may be planning or organizing private expeditions or charters to Antarctica in the United States, or proceeding to Antarctica from the United States, need to complete and submit the DS-4131 to the Department of State’s Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs. Please note that the standard processing time is three months. (An electronic copy can be emailed to me; the original signed copy should be sent by mail.)

The Department of State, in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NSF, will then determine whether your activities constitute an expedition subject to U.S. jurisdiction for purposes of the treaty notification requirement. That determination is a legal one, and must be made by the United States Government. It is also a threshold requirement for EPA regulatory and documentation processes and NSF relies on the information from State and EPA processes to make permit issuance determinations under the Antarctic Conservation Act. If we determine that your activities are subject to U.S. jurisdiction, we would then give you information on how to proceed with the EPA and NSF requirements.

I am cc’ing my colleagues ....... and Dr. ....., at EPA and NSF respectively, for your reference. Additional details on Antarctic policy are available on the following State Department website: Antarctic policy background.

Sincerely,

LD

[El Pinguino]

Dunno why you want to go there... nothing but birds and fish... and ice....

However... you should be applying to either the flag state of your yacht or your country of nationality.

I had some US based friends apply about 10 years ago... they had to jump through all sorts of hoops....

Met an Austrian couple recently... they applied to Austrian government who simply responded 'go for it' or words to that effect....

I think many don't even bother asking....

Did you get my last PM re the Atlas?

[lamadriver]

Yup , thanks I thought I replied ....

[Stephen Kiefer]

Admiral Byrd had some interesting experiences down under.

[fahtcha]

There are no EPA regulations that would cover a typical private vessel and its incidental discharges. I can't speak to NSF, but it isn't a regulatory agency and shouldn't have much if any. I would treat this as just a requirements to notify as part of the U.S.'s treaty obligations. If you want to dot all the i's I suggest sending in the form. It's hard to say who would be enforcing anything and what they would be enforcing.

[Tingum]

And just who is going to enforce thes BS regulations?

[Shrew]

As such, all U.S. nationals who:

1) may be planning or organizing private expeditions or charters to Antarctica in the United States, or

2) proceeding to Antarctica from the United States, need to complete and submit the DS-4131 to the Department of State’s Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs.

Seems like very specific, very navigable criteria. Not much checking in/out below 60 degrees S, to my knowledge.

[hellosailor]

And you know, the really annoying part of clearing into Antartica, is waiting around for the summer months, because the rubber stamp ink pad for your passport is usually frozen solid about seven months of the year. Can't stamp your entry until summer comes!

[Fine Tolerance]

Sorry, cannot help you re USA but have a good trip. No one can stop you from going to the Antarctic but most countries have laws that can be enacted when you return to your own country. In the UK it's up to 2 years imprisonment and/or unlimited fine. My personal thought is that it is aimed at multinationals dumping toxic waste in what they consider no mans land and we as small cruisers are caught in the legislation. There are no worldwide uniform laws on permits and penalties, each country has it's own. Not US info but good info anyway is the RCCPF. Free to sign up as a member and then download the Antarctic Peninsular guide. It's also free as with all out of the way places the small demand does not warrant a printed guide book. Hope this helps and encourages even though it doesn't address your OP.

[WouldBeMariner]

Yes, that's my understanding too.
If the yacht is US flagged then you need a US permit. Which is hard to obtain unless you are doing bona fide scientific research.
Much much easier to get a UK permit for a UK flagged vessel, science research is not required.
If the vessel is flagged US or UK or Norwegian or any other country that has an antarctic scientific base and you have no permit you can expect to be fined when you get home (if you are detected).
If you have some no-name flag and go to the antarctic without a permit and need to be rescued you can expect to spend time in a jail, probably in New Zealand.

See also A Berserk expedition gone wrong

[El Pinguino]

I asked some friends who went down to the ice about 10 years ago.. their response...

'The Antarctic permit for US vessels is extraordinarily difficult. About 200 pages of documentation required, and involved the State Department, NSF (National Science Foundation) and Environmental Protection Agency. It is necessary to demonstrate a very high degree of "self-sufficiency"---they do not want the scientific stations troubled in any way at all, even for emergencies---, a high degree of familiarity with the scientific aspects of all flora and fauna, protected sites, historic sites, a detailed evacuation plan, etc.

All of the submissions are public record and available on-line from the US NSF, but I don't know the process for getting ahold of one. The best thing would be to get someone' s from recent years, paraphrase it, and submit. Mine is now rather dated, as we went in 2008. I had to get into a big pissing contest with the cruise ship trade group, as they filed objections to our going---they like to protect their turf. NZ and AUS permits are much, much easier---go with a pirate flag! Had I not had 2 careers, one as a lawyer, the other as a professional mariner, I never would have gotten through the permitting with the US government. US and UK permits are nearly impossible!!'

[Gdog6]

Lama driver, see if you can get hold of stormpetrel on here. Not from the U.S. but I think he has been down there a few times , so he may have some helpful information for you.

[toddster8]

The way I heard it (from within NSF) is that a certain Envirobabble Group kept showing up at McMurdo, unannounced, in a chartered cruise ship, expecting free guided tours, chasing the penguins, & generally doing the whole Ugly American thing On Ice. When NSF told them to sod off, they got into a pissing match that ended in (among other things) this application process and the banning of sled dogs from Antarctica.