My son is planning an Atlantic crossing to the USA next summer. He will want to clear customs in Newport, close to his sister’s house in Montauk. His S&S Swan 36/060 Galatea II, like all Swedish sailboats, is unregistered. Do you have . . .any suggestions for authoritative persons he (or I on his behalf) can talk to to find out exactly what kind of paperwork the US Coast Guard will require ?Pippo is a US citizen, his crew will be Finnish and French in all probability. He will be sailing from Galatea II’s home port outside of Stockholm and probably over the top of Scotland, where he will re-provision, and then cross on the northern route, trying to stay above the lows. He plans to store Galatea II in the US for the winter and then return to Europe the following summer. I’d appreciate any suggestions or advice you might have. Mannie (Louis Mannie Lionni)
Peter Stoops on 12/21/2006 11:12
Hi, Mannie: One thing I do know is that the sailors should have all their
paperwork in order; a friend of mine had to sail one of his crew to Canada
after homeland security (immigration and customs) refused to let him in to
Maine without his passport/visa (British subject). They should check on
that and be sure to get visas if necessary.
The boat is another matter. I believe that if you can document who it is
owned by accurately, it should be ok. That would mean ownership and/or
vessel documentation/tax payments of any sort from Sweden. And, if he is
stopping in other ports, have him be sure to keep the clearance from the
last one – USCG will want to be sure he cleared out properly.
I would call customs in Rhode Island and ask them if they have any specific
information. Here is the US Customs website for that port:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/ports/ri/0501.xml
I also located this link on US Customs that is a little more general about
requirements.
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/pleasure_boats/reporting_requirements_plea
sure_boat.xml
The bottom line is that I think he should be o.k. by arriving and reporting
directly to customs/immigration, with some sort of info on boat ownership.
This isn’t an unusual situation; many people arrive in the summer from
foreign ports like the Caribbean, so he should be in good shape – especially
if he comes in through a place like Newport.
Lastly, I forwarded your question to my friend Alex Agnew, who is the
publisher for Ocean Navigator; he said he would post it on their blog at
http://blog.oceannavigator.com/ Take a look at it to see if it gets any
reactions.
Sounds like a great trip – hope to do the same in reverse in Chase, our Swan
40, not Freedom, the 36 – she’s been “put out to pasture” here in Maine.
Tell Pippo to drop me a note or give me a call (207-831-4062) if there’s
anything I can help with.
Peter
Nice site man! Very nicely done. I will be back!
– blog.oceannavigator.com u
spaghetti alla carbonara
Uncategorized
Customs question
Senior Chief Dave McClintock on 12/21/2006 11:11
I assume this foreign recreational vessel is under 300 gross tons and
therefore would be exempt from the Coast Guard Notice of Arrival reporting
requirements of 33 Code of Federal regulations, Part 160. The exemption is
listed under 33 CFR 160.203(b)(1). You can find a copy of this regulation at the NVMC (USCG National Vessel Movement Center (NVMC) website below. As far as clearing
Customs, Mr. Lionni will have to speak to their agency. Let me know if I can
be of further assistance.
Senior Chief Dave McClintock
NVMC
USCG National Vessel Movement Center (NVMC) www.nvmc.uscg.gov