Greece- requirement to change "user" every 6 month on 18 month transit log?

[salticrak]

Off topic I know but here goes anyway,German Authorities are aware and accept migrants with false documents. It seems to make a mockery of all this Greek paper shuffling.

[boatman61]

Greece is kinda confusing..
I needed a 'Clearing Out' from Samos to go to Kusadasi to 'Restart' an Aussie boat I was delivering to Malta.. there I cleared in then cleared out 4 days later.
I assumed that when I got to the Corinth Canal I'd get tied up for a few hours with paper work however, when I went to the office they did not even want to look at my boats papers.. No fee.. nada..!!
It was "Go back to your boat and wait 20mins and you can go straight through.." mind.. it was 0100 and we were the only boat there..

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Greece is kinda confusing..

In 18,202 posts, you have never made a more accurate statement

I can only say it again, there really is no place like Greece. You pull up to a quay, plug in to power, fill up the water tanks, drink 2 euro beers and eat cheap ass food 10 feet away from the boat, and they charge you 20 euros per day. It costs 10 times that much anywhere else. A dozen times I've told the harbor master to double their prices and they will say "We can't, then no one would come" - BS - where else can you go?

[Polux]

Originally Posted by Palarran

In 18,202 posts, you have never made a more accurate statement

I can only say it again, there really is no place like Greece. You pull up to a quay, plug in to power, fill up the water tanks, drink 2 euro beers and eat cheap ass food 10 feet away from the boat, and they charge you 20 euros per day. It costs 10 times that much anywhere else. A dozen times I've told the harbor master to double their prices and they will say "We can't, then no one would come" - BS - where else can you go?

Certainly agree with that but I pay much less than you, you have a big boat and a cat that sometimes pay more. I pay around 7/8Euros on a port and most of the time I am at anchor, eating at a restaurant on the beach, 100m of the boat for less the price it would cost to stay on a marina.

Recently I have been in a Port with everything, electricity, water, good protection, lovely town were all things put together I paid 12 euros for 5 days.

Like you I felt bad because the Greeks are paying for me to stay there: on the coast guard office there were lots of people, maybe 20, and only one out of 10 was doing something. I wonder how much it would really cost to have the boat there, considering all costs? Yes, Greece is confusing.

[dlymn]

DEPKPA for EU registered boats and transit log. for non EU boats Greece —

[David B]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Italy is different, each country has it's own bond rules. That's why so many ships pull into Italy for long term refits. Did you contact an Italian customs bond agent or official? Or just going be what you've been reading on the internet.

In Italy (Licata, Sicily) we were dealing direct with the Customs office there. Very helpful and friendly people as we found all over Sicily.

As to the immobilisation period, I got the information from: Some Frequently Asked Questions about the rules for private boats - European Commission
Which seems to be the official source.

[David B]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Greece is kinda confusing..
I needed a 'Clearing Out' from Samos to go to Kusadasi to 'Restart' an Aussie boat I was delivering to Malta.. there I cleared in then cleared out 4 days later.
I assumed that when I got to the Corinth Canal I'd get tied up for a few hours with paper work however, when I went to the office they did not even want to look at my boats papers.. No fee.. nada..!!
It was "Go back to your boat and wait 20mins and you can go straight through.." mind.. it was 0100 and we were the only boat there..

I heard the Corinth Canal was expensive to transit - sounds like 01:00 is the time to do it then !

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by David B

I heard the Corinth Canal was expensive to transit - sounds like 01:00 is the time to do it then !

I've passed the canal 3 days ago and paid 243 € for 14 m catamaran. It's charged by the length of the boat regardless whether you are mono or cat. If you pass by night or in public holidays you pay 25-30% extra. It's expensive..

Cheers

Yeloya

[SY_Maria]

OK guys here's the update.
Having checked with 3 different agents on 3 different Greek islands (talk about paranoia) re this requirement to change user every 6 month, I can now confirm that yes, it is the rule for non-EU-flagged boats/VAT not paid/non-EU owner.
The fine for not changing the user is 14 Eur/day past these 6 month.
An agent on Corfu was of great help and did all the paperwork for me.
So now I have a new user in my transit log, in form of customs officer's note on a blank page, stating that since this date the new user is... and his details. Official stamp, name, signature. Technically I now need him onboard at all times the boat is in use, which is fine since he's my mate and onboard most of the time, but they said this is rarely if ever checked.

[dlymn]

Originally Posted by Palarran

In 18,202 posts, you have never made a more accurate statement

I can only say it again, there really is no place like Greece. You pull up to a quay, plug in to power, fill up the water tanks, drink 2 euro beers and eat cheap ass food 10 feet away from the boat, and they charge you 20 euros per day. It costs 10 times that much anywhere else. A dozen times I've told the harbor master to double their prices and they will say "We can't, then no one would come" - BS - where else can you go?

Not ten times. We landed in Cannes during the film Festival. Moored 100 metres from the main theatre facing the megayachts. 33 euros a day. A six pack of French beer at the supermarket was 2.5 euros. Free water, electricity etc. Scored free 20 metres of hull carpet used once on a megayacht for a party to protect the floors. Then went on to Monaco. F1 race was on. We were quoted 1200 euros a night 3km from the casino with no view.
In Greece (Ionian), at most harbour towns, you might get water but only occasionally electricity. Usually pay from zero to 15 euros. The range of services varies greatly. The Tavernas are usually less than 100 metres away. beer and Pita Gyros are cheap. The 'proper' marinas vary from 30 to 55 Euros a night and you might not get much for that. Gouvia, we paid 50 and was put 50 metres from a sewerage outlet in high summer. 250 metres from any cafes etc.
More importantly you can get a good sail in the afternoon on many days, but it is very crowded and you'll miss a mooring on the town quay after 5pm. Plenty of great anchorages available. Been sailing there for 4 years (summer only) and love it.

[FilBrown]

As of 2023 this rule is still in operation.
There is very little information to be found why Greek Port Police require the captain to be changed every 6 month.

Our companions boat was fined €300 in Patras last year for not changing the captains name on his boats papers. No reasons behind this offense were given to justify the fine.

[goeasy123]

SY Maria. Your agent is correct. You need one other person to have a suitable captains qualification. At the 6 month deadline you submit a new crew list citing a new captain with the old captain cited as crew. Then you have another 6 months. You can do this indefinitely with two suitably qualified individuals. The official dated stamp on the new crew list is the device that resets the clock.

You can solve the Schengen 90/180 day limitation by stamping out of Schengen on your passports and declaring all on board as 'crew in transit'. This is covered by point 6 in the TL notes.

You need to have an agent to guide you through the process and to interface with the authorities for you as not all front line staff know how to deal with it.