New Caledonia Ports of Entry and Customs Clearance
New Caledonia Ports of Entry And clearance
Yachts arriving from overseas or departing New Caledonia can only enter in Noumea and may not stop anywhere else within the territorial waters of New Caledonia before clearing into Noumea.
You don't have to give advance notice - unless you have an animal - cat or dog - aboard. You will get the forms you need to fill out when you clear in at Port Moselle Marina but if you wish you can download the entry form, print it out and have it ready when clearing in New Caledonia Yacht Clearance Form
Clearance is only possible at the Visitors Wharf of Port Moselle Marina or Port du Sud Marina.
You must fly the yellow Quarantine flag and the French courtesy flag on entering New Caledonia waters. The yellow flag must stay aloft until after you have finished all formalities.
Quarantine regulations are similar to New Zealand or Australia. A list of items that may be imported without special permission may be downloaded from New Caledonia quarantine here.
Dogs and Cats are a MAJOR hassle aboard yachts. They require quarantine ashore and must have a veterinary health certificate from the last country visited and an application for importation submitted to quarantine before the yacht arrives. If a yacht with a pet aboard has been in a country that has rabies within the past 6 months it will not be allowed to enter. The yacht will have the same issues in Australia and New Zealand. To see why you do not want a pet aboard here is a link to the offical requirements (in both French and English).
Note: You can clear in with your yacht at anchor but you will need to go by dinghy into Port Moselle Marina to arrange to bring the port officials out to your yacht.
Superyachts should coordinate entry and clearances with Noumea Yacht Services
Port Moselle, Noumea -
entry to Noumea Harbour 22° 17.111S 166° 25.350E
P.O. Box 2960 - 98846 Nouméa
Tel. (687) 27 71 97
email port.moselle@sodemo.nc
website (French and some English)
Call Port Moselle Control on VHF channel 67 once you have entered Noumea Harbour (their hand-held VHF radios sometimes do not reach beyond the entrance to the marina itself). Give them the name of your boat, the estimated time of arrival, and the overall length of the boat. When you arrive at the entrance to the marina call again to confirm your arrival.
The Port Moselle radio operators speak English and are available from 07:00 to 18:00 every day. The business hours of the marina office (the Capitainerie) are:
- 07:30 to 17:00 Monday to Friday
- Closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays
The marina will assign your yacht a berth on the Visitors wharf, the last wharf to starboard as you enter the marina. It is marked with a yellow cross at the end. Even numbered slips are on the west side of the wharf. A staff member will come to the end of the wharf and guide you to your berth.
The captain is expected to immediately go to the Marina's office with the boat's offical papers, including the clearance from your previous port, fill out the arrival declaration papers and then return to the boat. All crew and guests must stay aboard until clearance formalities are completed.
The marina office will fax the documents to the appropriate officals. Officials from immigration, customs and quarantine will board your vessel. The captain should check with the marina office after two hours if no officer has arrived.
If you arrive in Noumea at night or on the weekend you can anchor within the proper anchorage areas in Baie de Moselle outside the breakwater to the marina - take care on approach as there are many yachts without lights anchored in the bay and they are hard to see against the lights ashore.
New Caledonia immigration and visa requirements
Departure
Departure is only possible from Noumea. Before departure from Noumea the captain must go to the customs office with the documents received on arrival and notify Customs of the time of departure. The captain will then go to the harbour master's office to clear with immigration and the harbour master.
Foreign yachts are not allowed to stop anywhere after they have cleared out and must depart the territorial waters directly.
Any questions should be addressed to the:
Direction Regionale des Douanes de Nouvelle Caledonie
1 rue de la Republique
BP 13
98845 NOUMEA CEDWX
New Caledonia
Website https://douane.gouv.nc/contactez-nous
https://douane.gouv.nc/particuliers/formalites-douanieres-pour-les-navires-de-plaisance
