Exciting news for Cruisers currently arriving at, or planning to visit, South Africa, with the release of a much-awaited cruising guide, the announcement of the opening of two new Ports of Entry/Departure and the launch of a new online travellers declaration, to ease the Customs entry process.

Published 2 weeks ago

Great News for Circumnavigating Yachts

The traditional pattern for cruising or circumnavigating yachts is to cross the Indian Ocean during August to October, coming in to Richards Bay or Durban in November, and then cruising along the coast and around the Cape. Typically, boats leave for the Atlantic Ocean in January or February.

With the troubles in the Red Sea over the past few years, OSASA report that they have seen a marked increase in yachts taking this route around the Cape, rather than the shorter one through the Red Sea and into the Mediterranean. Jenny from OSASA reports; “This has produced problems of its own. Our marinas and yacht clubs have not yet caught up with the increased demand, which is of course very seasonal (typically September to January). As a result, our facilities are generally overcrowded during the peak periods. It is not easy finding spare cash to increase or improve the existing facilities when 1) demand is so seasonal, and 2) there are major problems with tenure and leases of the existing yacht clubs. These matters are still being addressed.”

Cape Town in particular is a bottle neck for visiting yachts, as it has been the only port of departure for yachts wanting to get into the Atlantic – and of course everyone wants to be there for Christmas.

New Ports of Entry

Following months of negotations, Saldahna Bay on South Africa’s north west coast and Mossel Bay on the east coast, have finally been authorised as Ports of Entry for small craft by the Department of Home Affairs and Border Management Authority. Both opened for clearance formalities on August 1, 2024.

“This is incredibly good news and is the result of much negotiation over many months,” said Jenny Crickmore-Thompson from the Ocean Sailing Association of South Africa (OSASA).

“Many circumnavigating yachts wanting to leave South Africa will now be able to leave Cape Town and sail to Saldahna, explore that area, then clear out of Saldahna Bay rather than having to return to Cape Town to undertake clearance formalities.”

Saldahna Bay

Saldanha Bay opening as a Port of Entry/Departure will ease the pressure on Cape Town.

Yachts can now make use of the smaller facilities offered by Gordon’s Bay, Simon’s Town and Hout Bay to berth and explore the Cape of Good Hope. They can then leave directly from there to sail to Saldanha for checking out, instead of having to make the extra trip, into an already crowded Port of Cape Town, to affect immigration and customs clearances. Saldanha Bay also has excellent maintenance and repair facilities, always required after major ocean passages.

While some details are yet to be confirmed, officials will be in Saldanha Bay to provide clearance services from Monday to Friday – 8am to 4 pm every week.

Location of offices have yet to be confirmed, but it will be probably the Yachtport’s premises.

In the meantime, any yachts wanting to clear out at Saldanha Bay should contact Wiseman Maduna, the  Port Manager by email at wiseman.maduna@bma.gov.za. 

See Procedure Guidelines for South Africa ports on the OSASA website, for up to date info.

Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay, while of importance, is of lesser concern. This is because not many yachts sail west to east, from the Cape back across the Indian Ocean, as this is not a route with good prevailing winds at this time of year. However, Mossel Bay is an important extra Port of Entry for yachts coming from the Indian Ocean towards Cape Town. It should be noted that there may note be official staff on duty at all times in Mossel Bay, so be sure to submit pre-arrival information well in advance.

See Procedure Guidelines for South Africa ports on the OSASA website, for up to date info.

As with other Ports of Entry into South Africa, anyone wanting to clear into South Africa at Saldahna Bay or Mossel Bay, must complete and submit the online registration for pre-arrival authorisation from Dept of Transport through www.osasa.org.za at least a week before arrival.

See full details at South Africa Clearance Information on Noonsite.

Online Customs Clearance

The South African Revenue Services (SARS) have launched a new Travellers Online Declaration System which means that customs clearance process can now be completed online.  All travellers by land, sea and air are required to complete an entry declaration immediately prior to, or on arrival at a Port of Entry. This online form has been constructed so that it can be completed on a smart phone. An individual entry form has to be completed by each crew member (in addition to the mandatory information that must be submitted prior to arrival via OSASA).

See South Africa Customs Information on Noonsite for more details.

NEW Sailing South Africa Cruising Guide

It has been some time since Tom Morgan published his South African Nautical Almanac and with many cruisers requesting a pilot book that covers the same cruising areas as the Almanac, Tom has now published his new cruising guide – Sailing South Africa.  This long-awaited cruising guide is available as a kindle from Amazon and contains Pilotage for all ports and fishing harbours include formalities, entry and approaches. Coastline from Richards Bay to Walvis Bay in Namibia. Find out more details and buy the book at https://www.noonsite.com/book/sailing-south-africa/.

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Related Links:

• Clearance Rules for Entering South Africa
• Customs Rules for Entering South Africa
• Ocean Sailing Association of South Africa (OSASA).

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