Foreign yachts entering St. Lucia clear through a recognised maritime point of entry. Clearance combines pre-arrival reporting, Port Health/pratique, Customs and Immigration, with five official locations that differ in marina, port and authority arrangements. Send the yacht, crew, route and timing details for local-agent assistance.
St. Lucia is not a single-marina clearance system. Customs legislation imposes advance reporting, Port Health controls shore communication until pratique, and the island's five maritime entry locations range from full-service yacht marinas to commercial seaports and the SMMA-managed Soufriere coast. A local agent can coordinate the current reporting channel, authority attendance and port-specific arrangements without turning the process into an office-to-office self-clearance exercise.
Customs law requires the vessel master/commander and cargo reporter to provide advance passenger and cargo information to IMPACS through the proper officer before arrival. The published timing is at least 24 hours from a non-CARICOM country and one hour from a CARICOM member state; Customs may set alternative notification arrangements where a short voyage makes that timing impracticable. A separate report inward is required 24 hours before arrival.
SLASPA identifies Castries and Vieux Fort as the two principal seaports and Soufriere, Marigot and Rodney Bay Marina as smaller points of entry. Rodney Bay and Marigot are marina-based; Castries and Vieux Fort are commercial ports; Soufriere operates within a managed marine area.
Port regulations require vessels arriving from abroad to await pratique before shore communication; Customs and Immigration clearance follows. The local agent can align those national requirements with berth, pilotage, SMMA, commercial-yacht or other local requirements that apply to the particular voyage.
Having the core records ready helps the agent assess the voyage efficiently.
The core sequence is national, but the practical arrangement changes materially between Rodney Bay, Marigot Bay, Soufriere, Castries and Vieux Fort.
The vessel's flag, use, size, crew, route and ETA determine the applicable documents, reporting deadlines and local arrangements. Customs legislation requires advance passenger/cargo information plus a separate report inward before arrival, with timing depending on the yacht's origin.
Vessels arriving from abroad proceed through an appropriate Customs port or recognised maritime point of entry unless otherwise permitted. Port Health pratique is required before shore communication, after which Customs and Immigration formalities can proceed.
Rodney Bay and Marigot operate in marina settings, Soufriere adds SMMA mooring and zoning requirements, while Castries and Vieux Fort are commercial seaports with pilotage and port-operational considerations for larger vessels.
International departure also requires passenger/cargo reporting and outward clearance. Any changes to crew, passengers, route or declared goods should be reflected in the departure file and aligned with the yacht's port or marina departure arrangements.
SLASPA identifies five maritime points of entry. The right location is not simply the nearest harbour: Rodney Bay and Marigot are yacht-marina environments, Soufriere is a pleasure-craft port inside the Soufriere Marine Management Area, and Castries and Vieux Fort are principal commercial seaports with different port-operational requirements.
Customs law requires the vessel master/commander and cargo reporter to provide advance passenger and cargo information to IMPACS through the proper officer. The published timing is at least 24 hours before arrival from a non-CARICOM country and one hour from a CARICOM member state; Customs may set alternative notification arrangements where a short voyage makes that timing impracticable. A separate Customs report inward is required 24 hours before arrival.
Under St. Lucia's seaport regulations, a ship arriving from a foreign place must await Port Health pratique before communicating with shore or another ship. Customs and Immigration formalities commence after pratique, and people aboard remain subject to border-control restrictions until clearance is completed.
SailClear is an optional electronic pre-arrival service for pleasure craft where supported. Using SailClear does not replace the advance-information duties in St. Lucia law or the formal Port Health, Customs and Immigration clearance completed with the competent authorities.
The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority currently publishes occasional and annual licence fees for commercial yachts operating in St. Lucia, with bands based on yacht length. Private and commercial use should therefore be identified before arrival so the correct licence and clearance requirements can be coordinated.
Yes. St. Lucia's Customs law generally requires a vessel arriving from abroad to arrive at a Customs port unless the Comptroller permits otherwise. SLASPA identifies five maritime entry locations used for yacht and vessel clearance: Rodney Bay, Marigot, Soufriere, Castries and Vieux Fort.
Customs legislation requires the vessel master/commander and cargo reporter to provide advance passenger and cargo information to IMPACS through the proper officer. The published timing is at least 24 hours before arrival from a non-CARICOM country and one hour before arrival from a CARICOM member state; Customs may set alternative notification arrangements where a short voyage makes that timing impracticable. A separate Customs report inward is also required 24 hours before arrival.
It depends on the voyage and yacht. Rodney Bay and Marigot are the main marina-based choices; Soufriere is a pleasure-craft port inside the SMMA; Castries and Vieux Fort are commercial seaports and can be more appropriate for cargo, large-vessel, airport or route-specific logistics.
Vessels arriving from a foreign place must await pratique before communicating with shore. Once pratique is granted, Customs and Immigration clearance can proceed. This is why Port Health is part of the St. Lucia yacht-clearance sequence rather than an optional marina service.
No. SailClear is optional. It can be used as an electronic pre-arrival service where available, but it does not replace the statutory advance reporting or the formal Port Health, Customs and Immigration clearance required by St. Lucia.
Yes. The Tourism Authority currently publishes separate occasional and annual licence requirements for commercial yachts operating in St. Lucia. The vessel's use should be stated when requesting clearance assistance so the correct commercial, Customs and port requirements can be reviewed.
Use the form for check-in, check-out, Customs, Police, crew-list or maritime-reporting assistance.