Clearance into Vanuatu – reported by SY Golden Glow October 8th, 2018:

IMPORTANT UPDATE.
We cleared immigration at Port Resolution in August with no problem, but customs had to be done in Port Vila when we got there some weeks later (the officials in Tanna told us not to worry about the delay and officials in Port Vila also had no problem with that).

Friends who tried to clear Vanuatu immigration into Tanna EITHER in Lenakel or Port Resolution a few weeks ago, however, were told it is no longer possible. There was a sign on the door in Lenakel saying go to Port Vila.
So folks, check the current status before you go. Stanley in Port Resolution May have the answer +678 68791

Message from Vanuatu Yacht Services:
Good evening from Efate, Vanuatu. We would like to inform all visiting yachts small and large that the island of Ambae is currently off limits to visitors. ⚠️Please do not attempt to anchor anywhere along Ambae’s coastline as you will end up facing issues with the local authorities. ⚠️There is a current state of emergency on Ambae (due to volcanic activity) and all the people have been evacuated to the surrounding islands of Maewo and Santo.

The police and army are tasked with looking after all property on the island and they do not want any visitors nosing around. ???? We hope the situation will eventually return to normal for the people who have been displaced. Anyone wishing to assist evacuees in the new settlement sites can contact us to find out how to do so.
you.

RE Shopping & the environment: while Vanuatu has banned single-use plastic bags, drinking straws & takeaway containers, (which is fantastic) the markets & supermarkets still hand out the plastic mesh bags when you buy small sized vegetables. In the supermarket this was easy as we take our own cotton or mesh veggie bags with us anyway, at the market they are pre packaged but only tied not crimped so the vendors were more than happy to take the bags back & re-use them (as they have to pay for them)so we emptied them into our own bags.

Also when trading, think about the items you are giving. Small packets of laundry powder & milk are very useful but as the remote islands have no means to dispose of their rubbish responsibly we saw the discarded wrappers of these items in particular just strewn about the villages. We saved practically EVERY single container onboard which would be suitable for decanting cooking oil, rice, coffee, laundry powder, etc & found that people would keep these to use again for something else as water & air tight seals are hard to come by!

Navigator 1 and several other yachts arrived at Erromango island in Vanuatu at Dillions Bay (or Williams Bay as the locals call it after John Williams). We all had clothes to give to Villagers, however, we did ask the Chief (Jason Mete – Cell: 7767737) for a list of items that are required in most Villages throughout Vanuatu. This is a general request to any visiting Yachts to please bring products with them as donations. We didn’t realise the extent of the gear they needed.

Clothes: Men’s, women’s, children and babies. The latter two are important as adult clothes are easy to obtain from the likes of Australia.
Cooking items: Pots, spoons, cups, kitchen knives
Bush knives or Machetes
Shoes
Student books
Reading books
Pens, Pencils
Children’s toys
Small solar lights or panels of any size
Torches
Fishing gear: lines, lures, hooks
School laptops
Milk, Milo, rice (25kg bags), sweets

Any of these items would be gratefully accepted and can help a great deal. Thankyou

Posted on behalf of Jan Bochenski, SY Bold Spirit (UK)
Cruising the whole of Vanuatu, one can safely say there are more mechanical spare parts available in Luganville than Port Vila.
Best Marine Engineer is JT or John Turner available on: +678 7101766

The Vanuatu Customs website is now working perfectly and all forms are available to download.

Hi, first comments here on noonsite.

First off, I’d like to comment on just how amazing a country Vanuatu is to visit by yacht. Without exception, every encounter with the myriad of officials we all must deal with entering countries have been outstandingly friendly, accommodating, polite — and did I mention friendly??

A few comments to be helpful. On the Vanuatu Customs Website, there is a form to fill in for advance arrival. It doesn’t work. Nor do any of the phone numbers. They’re having some IT issues. Use the email address: customsborder@vanuatu.gov.vu for the required advance notification of arrival.

We stayed in touch with customs on our crossing from Fiji. We requested clearance for Port Resolution as is now required. Within 30 minutes of dropping the pick down — we were boarded and cleared into Vanuatu by two of the friendliest government officials we’ve ever encountered! Yes, it did cost some extra money to clear-in to port resolution — as opposed to Lenaki on the other side of the island — but after experiencing the experience of traversing the two ports in the back of a 4×4, it’s worth the expense!

Some other notes about Tamna. There are NO ATMs that will work with foreign cards. Full stop. None. You MAY be able to find OEM guest-house or other business on the other side of the island in Lenakel that MAY have enough cash in they’re ’till to help you out, but DON’T count on it. Of coming from Fiji, go to the airport with your passport, and, most important, your customs paperwork — and you can exchange whatever dollars you might have for Vanuatu Vatu.

Clearing in at port resolution will cost v$10,000 ($100.00). Bring lots more V$ with you as everything will cost money. Going up the volcano, visiting custom villages, etc., all require vatu$. And every penny spent is worth it!

… More coming …

Warning re unleaded fuel in Vanuatu. I recently returned from Vanuatu. In September Pacific Fuel, the supplier of most fuel in the country managed to distribute unleaded fuel that contained not 10% ethanol but 30%! This has resulted in damage to outboards that used it, including my tender’s 8hp Mariner. Cruisers need to check their fuel before using any Pacific Fuel product. The company still distributed their faulty product rather than recalling it.

Posted on behalf of Peter Wederell of Total Marine Solutions:
There’s a new boatyard being developed on Santo which should be operational early next year. It has a 60 ton travel lift and plans are to have a multihull haulout facility as well.