Great news for U.S. yacht owners, and just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has announced a quicker procedure to process recreational boaters returning to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida from the Bahamas and other foreign ports.
The small vessel reporting system rolled out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection allows boat and yacht owners and passengers who are already members of the agency’s “Trusted Traveler Program” to register online for expedited clearance when they return home from foreign ports.
These “trusted travelers” may visit http://www.cbp.gov/svrs to enroll for the new service before casting off for the weekend. They are not required to sign up in person. Yacht captains and passengers who haven’t been pre-screened through CBP’s NEXUS or Global Entry programs may apply online, then schedule a visit to an enrollment center in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Riviera Beach or Key West, Florida.
“If they’re not able to catch it Memorial Day, then they’ll be ready in time for 4th of July,” CBP’s Migdalia Travis said.
Once enrolled, a boat owner files a float plan and receives a special identification number before leaving the U.S. or prior to heading home if the voyage begins abroad. On arrival in South Florida, the skipper calls a CBP phone number, gives the float plan ID number, answers a few questions, and receives clearance without having to report anywhere else.
Yacht and boat owners and passengers who haven’t signed up for the new program will have to follow normal clearance procedures. That means reporting their arrivals back in the U.S. immediately by calling 1-800-432-1216 or 1-800-451-0393, or going to a designated reporting location such as the Port of Miami, Port Everglades, Opalocka Airport, or Fort Lauderdale International Airport’s General Aviation Facility.
In addition, the CBP will deploy teams of officers to several South Florida marinas for processing traveling boaters this weekend. Boaters may report to Miami Beach Marina, 300 Alton Road on Sunday or Monday from 1 to 7 p.m.; or Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. In Fort Lauderdale, they may go to Lauderdale Marina, 1900 SE 15th Street, Sunday or Monday from noon to 6 p.m. In Palm Beach, officers will be at Sailfish Marina, 98 Lake Drive, Singer Island, on Monday from noon to 6 p.m.
CBP reminds boaters that failure to report entry into the U.S. can result in fines of up to $10,000 and seizure and forfeiture of the vessel.
Source: Miami Herald, Susan Cocking & U.S. Border Patrol
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