Protocol for the Entry and Departure of Vessels

Protocol for the entry and departure of vessels at Port Louis Harbour

1. Entry in the territorial waters of Mauritius

1.1. In accordance with regulation 21 of the Merchant Shipping (Security of Ships) Regulations 2019, before entering the territorial waters of Mauritius, vessels are required to submit pre-arrival information to the Director of Shipping as per the provisions of the said Regulations.

2. Prior to arrival of vessel at Port Louis Harbour

2.1. Appointment of Local Licensed Shipping Agent

2.1.1. Prior to calling at Port Louis Harbour, all owners of foreign cargo ships, cruise vessels, and fishing vessels need to appoint a local licensed shipping agent who will represent the vessel during their stay in the port.

2.1.2. Pleasure craft of more than 100 Gross Tonnage may appoint a local shipping agent if it would require port services or for administrative purposes. However, Pleasure craft of less than 100 Gross Tonnage may be exempted from appointing a local shipping agent.

2.2. Notice of Arrival to the Director of Shipping

As per regulation 13 of the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) Regulations 2018, the Master of the vessel (through the local shipping agent), who intends to call at Port Louis Harbour shall at least 48 hours before its expected time of arrival submit information on the ship to the Director of Shipping, such as last port of call, certificates of the vessel, through the Port State Notification System.

2.3. Notification of Arrival to the Port Master

In accordance with regulation 11 of the Ports (Operations and Safety) Regulations 2005, a Notice of Arrival must be submitted by the local shipping agent to the Port Master not later than 24 hours prior to the expected time of arrival at Port Louis Harbour as well as all particulars of the ship/cargo and the date of departure from the last port call and the provisions of regulation 11 must be complied with.

2.4. Maritime Declaration of Health/ Free Pratique

2.4.1. Before the arrival, a Maritime Declaration of Health must be submitted to the Port Health Authorities requesting Free Pratique (Health clearance).

2.4.2. Greenlight is issued by the Port Health Authorities, based on health documentations submitted following which the Port Master will allow the vessel to enter the Port.

2.4.3. Ships are inspected under International Health Regulations 2005 by Port Health Authority and Free Pratique is granted if conditions are satisfactory.

2.4.4. All sanitary protocols, prevailing in the country should be duly complied with.

2.5. Notice to Port Master regarding dangerous goods

For vessels carrying dangerous goods, the owner, agent or master of such vessels arriving in the port shall, not less than 48 hours prior to arrival:

(a) give written notice thereof to the Port Master and furnish a list of the dangerous goods stipulating the technical names, the quantity, the U.N number and the class/division of such goods in accordance with the IMDG Code; and

(b) submit to the Port Master the particulars of ship/ cargo and crew as well as the date of departure from the last port of call.

2.6. Notification for the presence of animals on vessels

The local shipping agent shall notify within 48 hours the Livestock and Veterinary Division of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security of the presence of any animal which may be present onboard the vessel.

3. Implementation of the White Grub Protocol

3.1. The National Plant Protection Office of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security implements the yearly White Grub Protocol from 01 November to 15 January in order to monitor the white grub insect on vessels calling at Port Louis Harbour, in line with the Protocol signed between the Government of Mauritius and the Government of the Republic of France.

3.2. The local shipping agent is required to seek authorisation from the National Plant Protection Office for vessels arriving from and departing to Reunion Island.

4. Arrival of the vessel at the Port Louis Harbour

4.1. Health Authorities, Passport and Immigration Officers and Customs Officers board all vessels, for arrival formalities and issuing clearances.

5. Arrival of Fishing vessels at the Port Louis Harbour

5.1. In accordance with section 51 of the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act 2007, the Master, owner or agent of a licensed Mauritian fishing boat or a licensed Mauritian fishing vessel shall, 2 days prior to the vessel reaching Port Louis Harbour, inform the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping of the expected time of arrival.

5.2. In line with section 54 of the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act 2007, the Master or agent of all foreign fishing vessels shall notify the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, at least 72 hours before entry into the Port, of the purpose of its call and submit a copy of the vessel’s authorisation to fish and information on the quantity of fish on board.

5.3. All fishing vessels, except for local fishing boats/vessels of less than 24 metres and local fibre-glass fishing vessels of 24 metres or more, are required to submit their insurance cover against wreck removal expenses along with other statutory certificates and documents to the Director of Shipping and the Mauritius Ports Authority, at least 48 hours prior to their arrival at Port Louis Harbour.

5.4. The semi-industrial fishing vessels have to be registered with the Fisheries Division and the Mauritius Ports Authority is informed accordingly by the Fisheries Division each time such vessels which are allowed to proceed to the fishing ground and the expected date of their arrival back to Port Louis.

5.5. The local operator/owner of the vessel inform the Port Master, 24 hours in advance that the vessel will be calling at the Port Louis Harbour and at the same time requesting a berth allocation to unload the catch.

5.6. All fishing vessels, including semi-industrial vessels, have to submit a manifest prior to arrival of vessel or on day of arrival by the ship agent to the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs) through the Mauritius Cargo Community Services Ltd.

5.7. A bill of entry is submitted electronically to the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs) which issues the final clearance for unloading, subject to inputs from the Food Import Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Fish Landing Permit of the Fisheries Division.

6. Local pleasure craft, licensed by the Tourism Authority, returning from Foreign Port or from Outer Islands

6.1. All local pleasure craft returning from a foreign Port, Port Mathurin or from Outer Islands are to imperatively call at Port Louis Harbour to be boarded by the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs) and the Passport and Immigration Office on arrival, after the green light and free pratique obtained from the Port Health Authorities. The pleasure craft can subsequently proceed to their respective mooring places.

6.2. The National Coast Guard Harbour Security shall be informed by the Skipper prior to the pleasure craft proceeding to their respective mooring places. The National Coast Guard may board the pleasure craft or inspect the documents of the craft and the skipper.

6.3. The National Coast Guard carries out sightings daily at their mooring/embarkation points and may board of any pleasure craft at any time to ensure compliance with legislations in force or upon reasonable suspicion that the pleasure craft is engaged in illegal activities. Owners/skippers should inform the nearest National Coast Guard post, prior to proceeding to sea with details of their voyage plan.

7. Foreign pleasure craft calling at Port Louis Harbour

7.1 In accordance with the provisions of sections 44 and 48 of the Customs Act, the owner or master of any seagoing vessel including a foreign pleasure boat, yacht, surfing boat, rowing boat, ship of any kind shall not permit his ship to enter any place in Mauritius other than the Port Louis port unless from stress of weather or other reasonable cause. The Director General of the Mauritius Revenue Authority may authorise pleasure boats to proceed to any place other than a port in Mauritius. Where a foreign pleasure boat enters Mauritius, the master or owner of such boat shall provide the Director General with a written declaration in prescribed form on the purpose of the boat’s presence in Mauritius and the duration of its stay. The master or skipper of such seagoing vessel shall, however contact the National Coast Guard on VHF Radio Channel 16 to inform of the position of the boat and the place of the safety where he intends to proceed.

7.2. Foreign pleasure craft are presently monitored by the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs) when they stay for more than three months as they have to submit a security by bank guarantee or office cheque to cover the duties and taxes on the pleasure craft by virtue of the regulation 26 (2) of the Customs Regulations 1989.

8. Departure of vessel from the Port Louis Harbour

8.1. Cargo ships and Foreign Fishing vessels

8.1.1. Prior to the departure of Foreign Fishing vessel, the local shipping agent should apply and obtain an outward port clearance from the Director of Shipping. (This does not apply to pleasure craft of less than 500 Gross Tonnage, local fishing vessels of less than 24 metres and local fibre-glass fishing vessels of 24 metres or more).

8.1.2. Departure clearance is issued to vessels leaving for a foreign port, Port Mathurin, high seas or outer islands including those under the purview of the Outer Islands Development Corporation as follows:

(i) cruise vessels, cargo vessels, foreign fishing vessels and local fishing vessels of 24 metres or more (except for local fishing vessels of less than 24 metres and local fibre-glass fishing vessels of 24 metres or more) by the Director of Shipping;

(ii) *local fishing vessels of less than 24 metres by the Director-General of the Mauritius Revenue Authority after having obtained authorisation from the Fisheries Division for the specific fishing campaign; and

(iii) *pleasure craft/yacht leaving for foreign port and outer islands by the Director-General, Mauritius Revenue Authority and the Passport and Immigration Office.

*Note: for (ii) and (iii), seaworthiness is not considered while issuing departure clearance certificate by the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs).

8.1.3. Any objection to departure/notice of detention from any relevant organisations, including the Passport and Immigration Office, the Police, the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs), the Mauritius Ports Authority, the Shipping Division, the Fisheries Division, the Health Authorities or any Court Order for the detention of vessel should be sent to the Director of Shipping/ Director of Fisheries or the Director General, Mauritius Revenue Authority, as appropriate, by mail and copied to the Mauritius Ports Authority, the Passport and Immigration Office and the National Coast Guard.

8.1.4. Departure will be authorised by the Port Master, provided the vessel has obtained the outward port clearance from the Director of Shipping/ Director of Fisheries or from the Director General, Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs), whichever is applicable, and there is no “objection to departure”/detention notice in force nor any arrest order issued by the Court.

8.2. Cruise vessels

8.2.1. The same procedures as at paragraph 7.1, are applied to cruise vessels for the issue of departure clearance by the Director of Shipping.

8.2.2. The departure details are incorporated in the Daily Shipping Movement prepared by the Mauritius Ports Authority and circulated to port users. Immigration Control Officer boards the vessel for Departure Immigration procedures.

8.2.3. The Director of Shipping sends a copy of the departure clearance to the Port Control of the Mauritius Ports Authority, the National Coast Guard and the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs).

8.2.4. Departure will be authorized by the Port Master provided the vessel has obtained the outward port clearance from the Director of Shipping.

8.3. Local Fishing vessels

8.3.1. In accordance with section 50 (2) and (3) of the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act 2007, the Fisheries Protection Service require the Agent/Master/ Owner of the local fishing vessel to submit a filled application form for departure for fishing with crew/fishermen details, date of departure, date of arrival, area of fishing and boat name three days prior to leaving the Port.

8.3.2. If all is in order, a written clearance is issued by the Fisheries Division, subject to such terms and conditions as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping (Fisheries Division) may deem fit to impose, following which final clearance is issued by the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs).

8.3.3. The Mauritius Ports Authority, the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs), the Passport and Immigration Office are informed by the Fisheries Division. Once the final clearance from the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs) is received at the Port Control, the vessel is authorised by the Port Master to leave the port. The provisions of section 50 (2) and (3) of the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act 2007 have to be complied with.

Departure clearance of Local Fishing Vessels of more than 24 metres

8.3.4. The Director of Shipping issues an outward port clearance to local fishing vessels of more than 24 metres only, excluding local fibre-glass fishing vessels of more than 24 metres. Departure clearances for fibre-glass fishing vessels exceeding 24 metres are issued by the Fisheries Division following which final clearance is issued by the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs).

Departure Clearance for local Fishing Vessels of less than 24 metres

8.3.5. The Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs) issues departure clearance to local fishing vessels of less than 24 metres.

8.4. Local pleasure craft, licensed by the Tourism Authority, proceeding to Foreign Port, Port Mathurin or to Outer Islands

8.4.1. Local pleasure craft have to report at the Customs Landing Steps for immigration formalities and also to request departure clearance certificate from the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs) and verification of specific documents, as the case may be by the National Coast Guard.

8.4.2. After the above clearance is obtained, the pleasure craft has to request for permission to depart from the Port Master via the Port Louis Harbour Radio and inform about its next destination.

8.4.3. The licensee/skipper should notify the Tourism Authority at least 48 hours in advance so that it can be confirmed that the craft will be under the operational charge of a skipper holding a Category A skipper's license (Oceangoing) and there is a survey certificate in respect of that craft which certifies its seaworthiness.

8.4.4. The Automatic Identification System of pleasure craft should be on at all times during the voyage and in case of breakdown or defects of the Automatic Identification System, same should be reported immediately to the National Coast Guard Operations Room.

8.4.5. All Pleasure craft proceeding to outer islands shall need the authorisation of the Outer Islands Development Corporation Ltd.

8.5. Local pleasure craft, licensed by the Tourism Authority, leaving their mooring places for overnight cruise/cruise for several days within the territorial waters.

8.5.1. The pleasure craft Licensee/Skipper should notify the nearest National Coast Guard post prior to the craft leaving its mooring place for an overnight cruise or for a cruise for several days within the territorial waters of Mauritius, and should provide the following information for their own safety at sea:

(a) date and time of departure;

(b) expected time of arrival;

(d) itinerary of the craft;

(e) purpose of sea sortie; and

(f) mobile number of the Skipper.

8.5.2. No customs clearance is required for a pleasure craft leaving its mooring place for cruise within the territorial waters of Mauritius.

8.6. Foreign Pleasure Craft

8.6.1. The Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs) issue departure clearance to foreign pleasure craft leaving for a foreign port, Port Mathurin and other outer islands falling under the jurisdiction of the Outer Islands Development Corporation Ltd.

8.6.2. Foreign pleasure craft have to report at the Customs Landing Steps for immigration formalities and also to request departure clearance certificate from the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs) and verification of specific documents, as the case may be by the National Coast Guard.

8.6.3. All relevant Authorities should notify the Port Master of their respective clearances and the final clearance rests with the Port Master.