New member looking for advice...from the experienced.

Hi there and welcome to YachtForums,

Congratulations on your new boat.

Every country has its own set of regulations and procedures for foreign flagged vessels entering local waters and ports. First check that your nationality is welcome or not, do you require a visa or not? same thing goes for all passengers on board. Then check which are the ports of entry and what procedures you have to follow, (all such information is available on the Internet nowadays), you will need to issue a transit log when you enter each country, you will be inspected and boarded by immigration and customs authorities as required by local laws, so know how they do it before hand and you will not get surprised. You have to list spare parts and other items on the log, some countries will require you declare any firearms aboard (KSA will require that and alcohol too, both will be locked and sealed on board so have a good locker otherwise they will confiscate them). Am kinda going a bit fast on this, but this is just general guidelines, you will sure get more details from other members here and you can ask more specific questions.

Most ports have certain times they accept arrival and departure on, also they receive cash only for the logs, visas, and duties and in local currency in most cases. Traveling through canals, like the Corinth or Suez is restricted to certain times, so you have to know before hand and notify the canal administration and pay fees in advance (before access times). I am not sure if Corinth requires having a pilot on board for your LOA and draft, you need to check that too. You can also request to be towed or have tugs on stand by, all at an extra fee. To enter Suez canal, you need to head to port Said, it is a very lively port and a very lively area, from there you pay the duties and fees (by the foot) and list in one of two convoys going south, it is a narrow channel so two south, one north and you anchor twice during transit to allow for north heading traffic, there are speed limits. Be in port a day before to finish everything on time, the transit will take a whole day moving 6-8 knots and anchoring twice. Again, you need to check current procedures and fees. Once your out the other way, you will find lots of marinas and services, that area is very alive in action and nice to spend few days in if you have the time, many resorts and great diving areas (you have to list divers on the log if you want to dive or hire a local instructor). Fuel is of good quality there. Now starts the desert run! After you are done from Hurgada and Sharm Sheikh if you decided to spend time there (watch your draft for shallow reefs), you head south, a very long run towards Jeddah, I personally would stick to the west side (Egypt) of the red sea, since the sea is all open with very few safe havens, your chances are better on this side, same goes for fuel and the people are extremely friendly. Here an application of a fuel bladder is great. You can't carry it full while transiting the canal, but once you are refueling to head to Jeddah, fill the bladder(s) and off you go. You have to check, check, check then double check weather and safety. Run safety and emergency drills with your crew and passengers before starting the whole trip and before transiting a long leg.

For KSA, radio in the cost guard, they will tell you which port you need to head to (If you will just refuel and leave, you will head to a commercial port, raise the Q flag and remain on the vessel until cleared to leave, sudden changes in course and speed are NOT appreciated there but all on all, the procedure are simple yet take long time to be done. A simple stamp on the passport or log will take ages!

You mentioned being escorted from Jeddah, this is a different game and your schedule and procedures are by the hand of the escort. Escort convoys travel by night, so be ready, sleep well, organize your watch schedule and be set for a long slow journey. In Yemen there are many ports to refuel at (Check with your convoy coordinator, you might be far offshore to reach those), cash only and quality unwarranted! (I will tell you how I did one transit in terms of fueling and what not in a while.) Friendly people but can be cunning so be aware of your surroundings, commercial ports are the best to be at, in terms of fuel, security, and supply and logistic services. If asked by anyone that is not port authority where are you heading? say you are heading the opposite way you really are! I don't want to defame the whole country but a very few are directly associated with pirates. Oman is a safe haven! A great country to be at, port authorities and coast guards are very helpful, reliable and professional, the language barrier is not a big issue because most are educated and speak good English, you will feel that from the first radio contact you do! Great scenery if you want to hang out for few days, great fishing too. From there, the only thing between you and Dubai is the straight of Eden which is controlled by a traffic separation scheme, as a pleasure boat you will be told all about it in Oman, assigned a handler to keep contact with all the way until you get contacted by the coast guard of Ras Al-Khaimah in UAE, from there you don't need more help I guess.

Now, starting from port said, we had an agent organize everything and make sure we had fuel waiting for us (This is how we roll in the med. so it was a good idea to do the same in that part of the world), since we have done the transit before and lost lots of time and got the headache and hassle of dealing with locals with different agendas! So, a marine supply company in port said, which does the same services for freight ships, arranged for everything, the best part is that we deposited money with them and didn't have to carry lots of cash on board, then the rest was settled through invoices and telex transfers. The other added value is the quality of diesel was guaranteed, and they cover tow and repair charges if it was due to failure caused by fuel. You pay a premium but you buy your comfort. You can get port prices for diesel on the Internet so you can plan your total cost before leaving on your journey, it will not be so off. Some countries will give you tax free fuel at certain ports (Like Turkey and Cyprus).

I don't know if you are still reading! Anyways, if you are going to leave the boat in Jeddah and fly to Dubai, there are special procedures and the logs should list you as a passenger, not Owner (I know it does not make a difference but they say if you list your self as an owner on a transiting foreign flagged ship, you should arrive and leave with it!) Again, each country has its own rules and procedures that might change, check them from the main source directly.

Sorry for the long answer but you asked a long question!

Hoping this helps in any way.

Regards,

Al

THIS is why I love Yacht Forums !

Excellent post by Alfred Z, what a shame that the world has become so complex for the movement of it's residents, I am afraid it is now happening in our local day to day lives, there are a few locations that do not tolerate the removal of peoples rights, Texas for one, time to perhaps reflect on some of the positives of the good ole days ? after all, who does the Country belong to |?

agreed 100% ...

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