Saldanha Bay as a Port of Clearance

Created by val. Last modified on 2010-01-09 11:07:30
Contributors:
Countries: South Africa

December 2009

Saldanha Bay is an active commercial port and therefore still an official Port of Entry in South Africa. The hangup for cruisers is that due to budgetary constraints there is no longer an Immigration official there. The Customs officer in Saldanha Bay, who has the right to act on behalf of Immigration as far as the crew of big ships is concerned, does NOT have the right to process cruisers' immigration process.

So, should you choose to make Saldanha Bay your port of clearance when leaving South Africa, you must first go (drive or bus) to the Immigration authorities in Cape Town (on the 5th floor of the State Warehouse Bldg in the harbor area) and get your passport/s stamped, then take them and ships papers etc to the Customs office in Saldanha Bay (just inside the gate on the Iron Ore Dock). There the customs officer will issue clearance papers to leave South Africa. The clearance is valid for 36 hours.

Deborah Shapiro and Rolf Bjelke
on the Swedish yacht "Northern Light"