Going South of the Border? Marine Tax Laws!

I'd be seriously giving 2nd and 3rd thoughts before bringing a boat to Mexico with this going on. In fact Mexico is off my list of places to go by land or sea. Let's see, walk around on land and get your head chopped off; go by boat and have it siezed and sold. Hmmmm.

The information isn't limited to that single article. There are other reports and I've spoken directly to owners of an involved boat. It's been at many marinas. The problem isn't them trying to collect a fee it's the entire way it's been handled. Notices served but boat owners not there to receive them.Marinas being told no one can leave. Then one by one boaters go through a very convoluted process to prove they are legal and then be allowed to leave. There are three groups of people. Those lacking knowledge on the rules are the first group. Those knowing about them and ignoring them are the second. But the group of greatest concern is those who either are in compliance or attempted to be but aren't there to show it or there is some error, for instance numbers reversed in documents.

The use of an agent might well be worth the expense if one intends to leave their boat in Mexico while returning home.

USA Today has a feature on the issue and one Ensanada dock master states that 95% of those boats quarantined had valid permits. Another individual who was there when it happened simply said the way the authorities approached, with military, was very intimidating. Now the headlines are reading "Boats Seized" and that's misleading. Quarantined is the word. Not allowed to leave until it's resolved. I haven't read reports yet of them actually taking anyone's boat, although I imagine it's early in the process for that as it certainly appears they may do so later. Well, actually the correct term is precautionary embargo.

Even once all the paperwork has been shown and corrected if necessary there have been issues over hull id's being painted over or the agents not knowing where to look. I think part of the issue is that the agents know nothing about boats. In addition the release of boats once the documents are shown and steps are taken is very slow and they've indicated it may take up to 4 months before they make a decision to release or not.

Whatever the situation, the cause, and the ultimate results, the short term impact on the marinas and boat tourism will be significant. Headlines line this hurt business. Boat owners who have gone through this may move on. But many Southern Californians have rerouted their planned cruises.

We do have some stops in Mexico scheduled in the future. We'll await resolution to these issues. We might well use an agent. But where this stands will definitely impact our stops and the length of any stays.

As to this being normal for any country, it's far from it. Boats are found all the time to have failed to clear properly. Generally they are then told to take care of that immediately or leave. The norm isn't embargo but refusing to allow to stay. Now if they were delivering goods that would be different. It's somewhat the same as if someone is found to be in the country illegally. They aren't imprisoned, they are deported.

Hi,

Have you actually experienced this anywhere outside your own backyard?

We have been down here for ten years in Puerto Vallarta area and never had any trouble. We keep our paper work up to date and abide by their laws and no problem. You must have an import permit for you boat when you check in to the country and it cost money. It's their law. When we went to the Bahamas it was the same thing. Then when we went to Honduras,Panama,Costa Rica,Nicaragua it was also the same thing you pay money to take you boat into another country.You even pay when you go into another country just for a fuel stop. I don't see this as a tax grab it is the cost of boating in a foreign country actually Mexico is cheaper then anywhere else I have been.

Note I said "generally" and, no, I haven't experienced it beyond seeing those in the Bahamas. However, I have both read about and talked to people who have first hand experience in it either being their boat or witnessing another. Now I'm sure there are countries where they would try to seize the boat. I know there have been incidents in Cuba. I've certainly seen situations in the US and there's been a lot of tolerance.

I'd say this too. Generally those areas dependent on tourists and, in this case, boating dollars, try to deal a bit differently with such issues. I'm also hopeful that it's some overzealous young people lacking knowledge of boating who have taken the task of executing the direction and that wiser heads will prevail. Hopefully it will turn out like the hoopla over the FWC and Boot Key Harbor where those involved were doing their jobs, just not going about it the best way.

Guess we can find out how the Bahamas compare to NC where the Primadonna camped out long after their visas had expired plus their entry was questionable. Now they are rumored to have entered the Bahamas without checking in with authorities.

I'm all for enforcing laws but do encourage an approach that is reasonable for the situation.

I understand that several large yachts in both Ensenada (for repairs) and in Cabo have been seized. Anyone know which ones?

What is new under the sun? This really takes me back!

Now this is a long long time ago. But my maternal grandparents (Him Scottish retired Merchant Master so he had been around) used to travel to Mexico every year in the 1950s because my grandmother had bad rheumatoid arthritis for some quack doctor cures. I should note she got her first knee transplants from Dr. Leslie Shiers who invented that procedure that stopped the quack treatments.

Anyway, I remember one time they took me. Grandpa and I, while grandma stayed at the villa they rented, got in an auto accident. Of course, he had a few too many and argued with the Mexican police. Anyway, I was still a kid but I remember setting for hours at the police station... then giving up and walking about 10 miles to tell grandma Ed was in jail! After about a day of sorting this out and him having arranged a 'payoff' and me delivering the money to the police captain guy. He got out and grandma deciding to cut her treatments short and get the next plane out! What did it cost, well the car of course, and about 50 dollars American my mother had given me for expenses on the trip!

When on several educational trips with him... though mainly hunting or fishing type forays.

Karo. If thats the same arthritis treatment my great aunt talked about leaving was likely the best thing. Fact was it would help the arthritis, but it also ended up killing a lot of patients through blood clots and heart issues. That's part of drug approval processes in most countries, not just to see if they work, but also to evaluate any side effects. The side effects typically took a year or more before appearing.

I have been following this for quite a while now and communicated with many who are in the are and have first hand experience of the facts.
Appears the authorities were tasked with checking that all foreign pleasure craft had proper documentation and failing proof were to be detained until there were in compliance, whenever many proved they where in compliance and many came into compliance, they were still in "detention" apparently the enforcing authority had no written procedures as to how to "release" the vessels. remember, Mexico is spanish and the spanish are famous for exacting documentation therefore a real big &&*_))(*(*(*( you know what, many went to the local port Captain and just told them we are departing for the US, here are our particulars and just up and left..no word yet on any reprisals etc.
Mexico is still coming in to the 20th century never mind the 21st, so one must expect this kind of issue. There are other much more modern systems of Government who also cause severe Government screw ups even on their own citizens...