Cruisers heading to New Zealand to escape the South Pacific Cyclone season or as part of their round the world adventure are being advised to make sure they are fully conversant with the Ministry of Primary Industry’s strict biofouling inspection requirements, so they do not have any clearance issues on arrival.

Published 19 hours ago

All Vessels Must Meet the Requirements

The first step for yachts arriving into New Zealand is to ensure the vessel meets the requirements of the Craft Risk Management Standard for Vessels. which came into effect in October 2023 and have not changed.

According to the MPI website “MPI has identified vessel biofouling as a serious threat to New Zealand’s marine environment. We know around 90% of invasive marine pests arrive in this country on the submerged surfaces of international vessels. Such pests can adversely impact New Zealand’s environment, unique marine ecosystems, aquaculture industry, and economy. Once here, invasive marine pests are very difficult to eradicate, as shown by the current undergoing Caulerpa management.”

Cleaning and Inspection

Viki Moore from Island Cruising NZ who has been working with MPI, arrival marinas and NZ Marine on pre-approval and arrival requirements on behalf of the cruising community, confirmed to Noonsite that vessels visiting NZ must provide evidence that the entire hull, including niche areas, have been cleaned less than 30 days before arrival.

“Vessel hulls will be inspected on arrival and MPI has better equipment this season to enable them to easily view hulls,” Viki said.

“MPI is being very strict on this and vessels with biofouling that exceeds threshold levels are managed based on the level of risk they pose. Vessels assessed as high risk are required to address the issue promptly, which may include immediate haul-out for cleaning.

“Vessels on the Island Cruising Sail South to New Zealand Rally are provided a biofouling management plan template they can use to help guide them through the process and provide MPI with all the evidence required for a pre-approval.   We are also in close contact with MPI and advocating on behalf of our members and other cruisers on this matter.”

MPI Webinar

Noonsite has been advised that MPI is holding a webinar for “Private Boats Arriving into NZ” on Friday October 10 from 11:00-1200  (NZ local time +13 GMT).  For further details contact info@mpi.govt.nz.

CRMS Regulations

The full regulations can be viewed at:

• MPI – Yachts and Other Recreational Vessels.

Complaints

Any vessels wishing to submit a specific complaint regarding these regulations can use the MPI Contact Us Form or contact Viki at Island Cruising with any concerns – info@islandcruising.nz

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Related Links:

• Noonsite  – NZ Biosecurity 
• MPI – Biofouling Management
• MPI – Yachts and Other Recreational Vessels
• MPI – Places of First Arrival
• Island Cruising NZ