Niue - Clearance
PRE-ARRIVAL
Giving advance notice of arrival and pre-booking a mooring, at the latest ETA 48 hours, is very helpful for the Niue Yacht Club (who manage the moorings) to know who is likely to sail in over the horizon. There are only 15 moorings available and it is not possible to anchor here, therefore by pre-booking online you can be guaranteed of a mooring on arrival.
An online pre-booking system for moorings is now in place, accessible via the Niue Yacht Club website.
As part of the booking process, you will initially need to provide the following information:
- Arrival and departure dates
- Owner/Skipper’s name
- Contact details
- Vessel name and length
- Number of people on board
- Credit/debit card details for payment
Once your booking has been successfully made, you will receive a confirmation email that will also notify relevant authorities of your arrival details. You will then be sent the relevant arrival documents and procedures to enter Niue.
If you are only able to send and receive e-mails, send the above information to the NYC at nyc@niueisland.com. Payment for moorings can also be made on arrival.
Note, if you do not pre-book and simply turn up in Niue, you will be asked to move if the mooring you take has been pre-booked by someone else.
ARRIVAL FORMALITIES
Advance Notification:
- When yachts are approx. 10NM off Niue, they MUST contact Niue Radio on VHF Channel 16 to provide details of yacht and crew and ETA (operates 24/7). The channel is monitored 24 hours a day and will contact Customs and Immigration with your details for the check-in process.
- You must not go ashore unless instructed by Niue Radio.
- Ensure you have read the Notice to Mariners and “Do’s and Don’ts for Yachties”, on the NYC website.
- Note: It is important that you arrive here with Clearance documentation from your last port. Failing to do so will result in an immediate fine of $NZ200 or $US175.
General Process:
- Pick up the numbered mooring you have been allocated (you will be given a GPS location when booking, although all moorings are numbered). Yachts do NOT have to come alongside the wharf for clearance.
- See Alofi Docking section for details on picking up moorings and getting ashore.
- Contact Niue Radio on VHF Ch. 16 with your vessel details and mooring number.
- All the necessary forms and declarations can be found on the NYC website. If possible, complete these in advance to speed up the clearance process and print out copies to hand to the authorities on arrival.
- Niue Radio will contact Customs and make arrangements for you to “clear”.
- The authorities here, via NZ aid, now have a zodiac for transporting officials to arriving vessels. However, it will depend on weather conditions and how many yachts arrive at the same time etc. as to whether the zodiac is used. Alternatively, arrangements will be made to transfer the skipper to the wharf for clearance ashore at Customs HQ.
- Please wait on board for instructions before attempting to come ashore as Niue Customs are very strict about this.
- If you arrive with all forms completed, it should take no more than 30 minutes to clear with all the authorities.
- Skippers must also register with the Niue Tourist Office, acting as a stand-in for NYC.
- Be aware that a yacht inspection may be carried out by Customs.
Immigration, Customs, Agriculture/Biosecurity and Port Authorities are available for clearance at the following times:
– Monday: 0900-1100
– Tuesday to Friday: 0900-1000, 1400-1500
– Saturday and Sunday: 0900-1000 and 1400-1500 (by arrangement and subject to staff availability).
Call Niue Radio on VHF Channel 16 for mooring advice and other help. See Docking for further information.
CLEARING OUT
- A Government departure tax is payable per crew member on clearance (see Fees).
- On final clearance, one Customs official will provide you with a printed certificate specifically for your vessel as proof of departure from Niue.
- Ensure all mooring fees have been paid.
Last updated: May 2024
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Next Section: Formalities: Clearance Agents
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Should be a short comment about the Laundry opportunity included in the article. Hina’s laundry is just a 3 minute walk from the dinghy dock crane in Alofi. Hina and Feti will most likely invite you in for a coffee and take care of you during your stay in Niue. Definitly worthwhile to spend time with them
World ARC are currently in Niue, but there are still limited spaces in the mooring field. The fleet depart for Tonga on Sunday 26th May. There is now a booking system in place, book your mooring in advance online at
https://www.niueisland.com/niue-yacht-club.
FAD positions on approaching Niue
Alofi Nth.
Long. 169°55.229296 W
Lat. 19°02.326004 S
Alofi Sth.
Long 169°55.592968 W
Lat. 19°03.244836 S
Allow for a 500 metre swing radius
Keith
Niue Yacht Club
Niue Yacht Club
“The Biggest Little Yacht Club in the World”
An incredible group of volunteers – all non-sailors – have been helping out cruisers for over 40 years on the delightful, small Pacific atoll of Niue – lying on the direct route from French Polynesia to Vava’u in Tonga. The “Biggest Little Yacht Club in the World” (or Niue Yacht Club) has provided safe moorings, shoreside assistance, a club house and the warmest welcome anywhere to visiting yachts since 1975.
Just in time for the start of Cyclone season, Niue’s Maritime Borders have re-opened after three seasons with no entry to transiting yachts. While this is great news for cruisers planning a 2023 Pacific crossing, the length of border closure now means that the Niue Yacht Club is in trouble and may well be facing closure.
Fighting to find some solution to rising Government fees, lack of volunteers due to a very small adult population on Niue and no headquarters for the Club, long-time member Keith Vial has launched a search for a Commodore at Large for the 2023 cruising season.
For Niue to remain a destination for yachts crossing the Pacific, the legendary NYC must survive and get back on its feet, so now it’s the cruising communities’ turn to support the Club that has helped them so much over the years.
If you have been to Niue and enjoyed the NYCs hospitality, please e-mail keithvial@gmail.com with your support and let’s try and keep this cruisers’ paradise on the Pacific crossing map.
Update from Keith Vial – Christmas 2022:
For a month or two earlier in the year, it looked as though the NYC might founder as we are down to only two of us left. Despite the statistics for the last 14 years that showed 6 600 crew had visited Niue, it seemed the government was oblivious of the economic impact cruisers had here. Initially, even the Tourism office was slow to respond.
However, since “Noonsite” published this article we have been overwhelmed by messages from cruisers. Many of the emails have been from crews who have visited here, appreciated the hospitality of the NYC and all offered assistance in some form.
The good news is help has come over the horizon in the form of NZ Aid to Tourism, with some good ideas and use of technology to expedite the whole arrival process. The NYC’s website is also going to be incorporated into aspects of Niue’s tourism website to make use of social media to ensure an up to date flow of information.
So from our darkest hour, a revamped and streamlined NYC should be ready with 20 safe moorings for the start of the 2023 cruising season. As a note of interest World ARC has tentatively scheduled two fleets of 56 yacht in total to visit, in early June and July 2023.
See the Alofi page for the latest moorings/yacht club info. https://www.noonsite.com/place/niue/alofi/
Update from Niue Yacht Club:
Our cyclone season was somewhat more damaging than previous years.
Cyclone Tino, in mid January, did significant damage to the wharf – so much so it has been out of action since then. Winch motor and cabling swept away, but derrick still standing and as far as I know will be back in action once cable to winch is installed. It is ironic that Cyclone Tino never came any closer than 450 nm and was only a Category 3, but the massive seas that this generated, did the damage.
We don’t know whether there has been any loss of concrete mooring blocks on the sea bed as we have been unable to get a dive boat launched for a survey.
Normally we would plan on starting to put moorings down by mid-April. This is likely to be delayed. Government restrictions means that it is unlikely that there will be any moorings allowed north of the wharf.
Request from the Niue Yacht Club to all yacht captains planning to include Niue on their cruising itineraries in May 2018.
Because of restrictions by the Niuean Port authorities and the loss of some mooring locations, the Niue Yacht Club has a reduced number of moorings available this season.
World Arc yachts are scheduled to visit Niue on their annual visit from 18th to 30th May and there will be no moorings available for other vessels during these 12 days.
We apologise for this restriction as it is the first time in 27 years of our operation that we ask for your help and co-operation during this short time.
Please pass this request on through any radio nets you use.
However we hope you will visit Niue from June on.
Fair winds
Keith
Commodore
Niue Yacht Club
Important Note: The end of May is a busy time here as World ARC stops over and normally moorings are restricted due to cyclone damage. Visiting here from June 1st is recommended in order to ensure mooring availability.