New Caledonia Ports of Entry and Entry Formalities
Ports of Entry Yachts arriving from overseas or departing New Caledonia can enter at the following ports:
1. Port Moselle Marina, OR Port du Sud Marina Noumea.
2. We Marina on the island of Lifou.
3. Hienghene marina on the NE coast of New Caledonia .
4. Touho marina on the NE coast of New Caledonia.
5. Koumac marina on the NW coast of New Caledonia.
You must fly the yellow Quarantine flag and the French courtesy flag on entering New Caledonia waters. The yellow flag must stay aloft until after you have finished all formalities.
Yacths clearing in to ports other than Noumea are given 7 days to get to Noumea for immigration clearance.
Port Moselle, Noumea - entry to Noumea Harbour 22° 17.111S 166° 25.350E
P.O. Box 2960 - 98846 Nouméa
Tel. (687) 27 71 97
Fax : (687) 27 71 29
email port.moselle@sodemo.nc
website (English and French) http://www.sodemo.nc
Call Port Moselle Control on VHF channel 67 on approach to Noumea. Give them the name of your boat, the estimated time of arrival, and the overall length of the boat. Five minutes before arriving at the entrance to the marina call again to confirm your arrival.
The Port Moselle radio operator speaks English and is available from 07:00 to 18:00 every day. The business hours of the marina office (the Capitainerie) are:
- 08:00 to 12:00 13:30 to 17:15 Monday to Friday
- 08:00 to 12:00 Saturday
- 08:00 to 10:00 Sunday and holidays
The marina will assign your yacht a berth on the Visitors wharf which is the last wharf to starboard as you enter the marina. It is marked with a yellow cross at the end. Even numbered slips are on the west side of the wharf. A staff member will come to the end of the wharf and guide you to your berth.
The captain is expected to immediately go to the Marina's office with the boat's offical papers, including the clearance from your previous port, fill out the arrival declaration papers and then return to the boat. All crew and guests must stay aboard until clearance formalities are completed.
The marina office will fax the documents to the appropriate officals. Officials from immigration, customs and quarantine will board your vessel. The captain should check with the marina office after two hours if no officer has arrived.
If you arrive in Noumea at night you can anchor within the proper anchorage areas in Baie de Moselle outside the breakwater to the marina - take care on approach as there are many yachts without lights anchored in the bay.
Marina de Oabdio a Koumac (Passe du Koumac 20° 41.86S 164° 13.1 E)
email pandop@mls.nc
phone 42 56 78
Hours:
- May to October 07:00 to 18:00
- November to April 05:00 to 20:00
The captain should immediately go to the marina or port manager and fill out the arrival declaration.
Marina de Hienghene (Passe de Hienghene 20° 35 S 164° 58.2 E)
phone 42 43 57
fax 42 43 56
email hienghen-tourism@mls.nc
VHF Ch. 67
The captain should immediately go to the marina or port manager and fill out the arrival declaration.
The marina is for shoal draft vessels only, but ocean going yachts can anchor outside the entrance to the river and go to the marina wharf via dinghy.
Marina de Touhu (end of wharf at entry to marina waypoint) 20° 46.375S 165° 14.358E phone 42 88 07
Hours:
- 07:00 to 11:30 and 12:30 to 16:30
The marina is 2.5m deep at spring lows and is a bit small for an ocean going yacht.
The captain should immediately go to the marina or port manager and fill out the arrival declaration.
Marina de Lifu at We (20° 54 S 167° 16 E)
phone 45 10 62
VHF Ch. 67
Hours:
The captain should immediately go to the marina or port manager and fill out the arrival declaration.
Note: We is on the east side of Lifu and the harbour is a man-made breakwater with a large pier for the interisland ferry. The marina is shoreward of the ferry wharf and the channel is a bit tight getting into the marina. The turn into the marina is sharp - stay to the north side of the channel.
Least draft in the entrance is 11 feet and in the marina berths it is 8 feet at low tide.
Yachts exceeding 45 feet must be very careful entering this marina and all vessels should call ahead on VHF to alert the staff so they can lend a hand with lines and give instructions on where to berth.
for more, and pictures - of new caledonia marinas click here.
Departure
Before departure from Noumea the captain must go to the customs office with the documents received on arrival and notify Customs of the time of departure. The captain will then go to the harbour master's office to clear with immigration and the harbour master.
Departing from one of the other ports must be approved by Immigration before leaving Noumea (the policy on departing from other ports seems to change frequently). Permission may be granted to stop for one day at Maré, Lifou, or Ouvea if you apply at Customs 15 days before departure (see below for direct quote from the customs website).
Foreign yachts are not allowed to stop anywhere after they have cleared out and must depart the territorial waters directly.
Any questions should be addressed to the:
Direction Regionale des Douanes de Nouvelle Caledonie
1 rue de la Republique
BP 13
98845 NOUMEA CEDWX
New Caledonia
douanes.nc@ofratel.nc
Internet http://www.douane.gouv.nc/particuliers/index.html
Click on Formalités Arr./Dép. and then the little flag for an English version.
To save you the hunt I have included the whole page here:
CUSTOMS REGULATIONS REGARDING VESSELS
BELONGING TO FOREIGNERS
UPON ARRIVAL
When you arrive in New Caledonia, you must call at a port of entry where Customs, Quarantine and Immigration formalities can be carried out.
Entry points :
- Nouméa : Port Moselle, capitainerie BP 2960 - 988456 Nouméa. Télépone (687) 27.80.95 ou 27.71.97, fax : (687) 27.71.29 ou VHF canal 67.
- Hienghène : Marina de Hienghène, BP 72 - 98815 Office du tourisme de Hienghène. Téléphone : (687) 42.43.57, fax : (687) 42.43.56.
- Koumac : Marina de Pandop, BP 144 - 98850 Koumac. Téléphone (687) 47.34.34.
- Wé (Lifou) : Marina de Wé (Lifou), Direction des affaires économiques, BP 50 - 98820 Lifou. Téléphone (687) 45.10.62, fax : (687) 45.10.59.
- Touho : Marina de Touho, BP 04 - 98831 Touho. Téléphone (687) 42.88.07.
The owner of the vessel, the captain or his representative must contact the Customs authorities for arrival and inspection formalities.
Please stay on board . No persons other than a Quarantine or Customs or Immigration officer is allowed to board nor can any person, animal or article leave the vessel until full clearance is granted.
As a general rule, all goods must be mentioned. When the customs formalities take place, all documents must be carefully filled in by the owner in capital letters and handed in to the Customs officers. Firearms and ammunitions are placed under bond at the Customs office (phone : 26 53 16). A receipt will be delivered for these specific goods. They will be returned to the owner the day of departure.
Permission must be granted for the unloading of goods regardless of their nature.
DURING YOUR STAY
Commercial activity is prohibited. Violation of this regulation will be by a penalty and possibly the forced departure of the vessel or its clearance under special regulatory conditions.
Renting, even free of charge or sale of the vessel are strictly forbidden except when an authorization has been delivered by Customs subject to payment of duties and taxes.
Temporary admission is only permitted for :
or
- twelve months (period of one year) for persons who have not visited New Caledonia during the previous last three years.
Please note that this permit does not exempt you from carrying out formalities with other administrations (e.g. : quarantine, immigration).
DEPARTURE
Clearance
Prior to departure from New Caledonia, Customs clearance is required. The vessel must leave French territorial waters, as soon as the departure formalities have been carried out. Therefore, stopovers during the journey to foreign destinations are strictly forbidden.
Exceptionally, stops at one of the Loyalties islands (Maré, Lifou or Ouvea) or the Isle of Pines can be authorized for the following destination : Vanuatu, Fiji, or Wallis and Futuna. To benefit from this authorization, an application form must be filled out at least fifteen days (15 days) before the date of departure with the Customs Subdivision department - (phone : 26 53 15). The stop at one of the above islands should not exceed 24 hours and is also subject to the agreement of immigration authorities.
Failure to comply with of one of the above mentioned provisions is subject to severe penalties. Reporting is required by law and non-compliance is an offence.
The free movement of vessels in the territorial waters does not have the effect of sparing them from other Customs controls, especially regarding the right of access to vessels provided by articles 41 and 42 of the Customs Code of New Caledonia.
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