Covid updates for cruising yachts

Covid updates for cruising yachts © noonsite.com

Chile opened its maritime borders at the end of May. While at the current alert level no Covid paperwork is necessary for entry, it's recommended to have a vaccination certificate should the alert level change while you are on passage.

The Chilean Government have announced that Easter Island will reopen to tourism on August 1st. Also, at the end of last month, Australia Border Force finally confirmed that the Australian maritime border is now open for departures and arrivals by sea with protocols finally in place for small craft after what they say "has proven to be a complex proposition, with ABF taking a staged approach." All current information for entering and leaving by sea is now available on the ABF website. More good news in the Pacific from Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, both of which will be opening international borders 1 July.

Restrictions easing

Ports of entry are no longer limited in South Africa, plus arriving with a vaccination certificate means no testing is required. Since the start of June foreign travellers to Thailand only need to provide either a Covid vaccination certificate or negative Covid test results to enter. Barbados have removed testing requirements for vaccinated arrivals and both Virgin Islands have suspended use of their travel portals. In the USVIs there have been changes to the testing rules, and in the BVIs pre-arrival testing now applies to all travelers, regardless of vaccination status. The Bahamas no longer require travel health visas to enter and testing for vaccinated travelers have been removed. Panama now permits entry with either a vaccination certificate or testing on arrival. Tunisia has scrapped quarantine for non-vaccinated arrivals.

All restrictions lifted

Italy dropped all restrictions on 1 June joining a number of other EU/EEA countries that have done the same including Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden. While Southern Cyprus has lifted all restrictions, Northern Cyprus (TRNC) still requires pre-arrival and post-arrival testing for non-vaccinated arrivals.

Still closed

The announcement that Japan was opening to all foreign tourists from 1 June led to a great deal of misunderstanding: it does in fact only apply to tightly scheduled tour groups with guides. The number of tourists that can enter Japan each month is capped and maritime borders for yachts are still very much closed.

Kirk Patterson of Konpira Consulting Japan told Noonsite; "A national election is scheduled for late July, so it is unlikely that any major opening will be announced before then. September is the earliest likely date that cruisers would be able to enter Japan, however there is still a great deal of uncertainty about what visas will be available. In any case, April-June is the time for foreign cruisers to enter Japan so a September opening is too late for cruisers to come to Japan in 2022." He adds "I do know, though, that a lot of foreign cruisers are wanting to come to Japan. Compared to 20-30 boats in a typical pre-pandemic year, I've got a "possible client" list for 2023-2024 of about 30 boats - and that's just people who have contacted me, so I would guess that the total number of boats seriously considering coming to Japan as soon as it opens is well over a hundred."

This article has been provided by the courtesy of noonsite.com