New procedure for customs clearance in Suva – Quicker & Cheaper

To avoid unnecessary waiting in the Suva offshore for customs, health & quarantine and immigration for visiting yachts, the following procedures have now been adopted in the Port of Suva.

On notification of a yacht’s arrival, Port Control will inform the appropriate departments. Their officers will arrive at the Royal Suva Yacht Club in a taxi paid for by the Yacht Club. Transport for these departments in the past has always been a problem which added to the delays.

On arrival at the Yacht Club, the club’s rescue boat will immediately transport the officers to clear the waiting yacht(s) in the quarantine area on the offshore (which is close to the Yacht Club’s marina).

This has been tried and found to be very effective and cheaper for the visiting yacht as the club only charges F$40 for all the transport fees (including boat & boatman charges and taxis) compared to the old fees charged by a pilot boat of F$115 for boat transport. If the pilot was doing escort duties, the yachts would have to wait until the pilot boat was ready to collect the inspecting officers and then take them to the waiting yachts.

There are two daily clearance times: Mon – Fri 0900 hrs & 1500 hrs. Yachts arriving after 1500hrs on Fridays will have to wait until the next normal working day or agree to pay the extra charges from these government departments to clear outside normal working hours.

This new system hopefully will restore the good name of the Port of Suva and drastically cut waiting times and reduce charges for visiting yachts.

Don Bruce

General Manager

Royal Suva Yacht Club