In accordance with the latest decision of the National Coordinating Body for Combating Infectious Diseases to allow the controlled entry of foreign yachts into Montenegrin nautical tourism ports, the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs (MSP) last weekend adopted the "Plan for the acceptance and management of foreign vessels in the ports of Montenegro".
According to the new measures, the controlled opening of the marinas has been made possible while respecting the self-isolation measures, which means that yachts that sail into them from abroad must remain moored for 28 days, during which time their crew and other persons on board may not leave the vessel, but in self-isolation "with the undertaking of health-sanitary supervision measures by the competent health institution, in accordance with the recommendations of the Institute for Public Health of Montenegro, and based on the decision of the Health and Sanitary Inspection". The lessee or concessionaire of the port of nautical tourism - marinas and commercial ports open to international traffic, Bar, Budva, Kotor, Port Kumbor - Portonovi and Tivat (Gat I and Gat II) which, according to these NKT measures, has been approved to accept foreign vessels in self-isolation, is obliged to take measures to prevent the introduction into the country, suppression and prevention of the transmission of the new coronavirus, based on the recommendations of the Institute for Public Health.
MSP has therefore adopted a Plan which, among other things, stipulates that only yachts with up to 30 crew members can enter our ports, but not passenger cruise ships. Since yachts with 30 crew members, due to their dimensions, already belong to the domain of ships that are subject to mandatory maritime pilotage, it is also prescribed that our pilots who bring them into the port must use full personal protective equipment.
It is prescribed that operators of ports and marinas where foreign yachts arrive must provide a special part of the marina/port where they and the people on board will be in self-isolation for 28 days, and organize security protection, supply of water, electricity, fuel, food and other necessities that the yachts will pay under commercial conditions, as well as fire protection and health care. The marina staff and the yacht crew will have to use personal protective equipment at all times and perform disinfection of mooring ropes, anchors and other equipment. The Maritime Safety and Port Management Administration (UPSUL) will verify the fulfillment of all prescribed conditions in the marina, which will only then issue approval for the entry and accommodation of foreign yachts to the marina in question.
UPSUL will also approve each individual request of a yacht interested in sailing into one of our marinas based on precisely specified documentation that must be attached to such a request, determine the route of the yacht's movement through the territorial sea and internal sea waters of Montenegro to the destination marina, as well as coordinate the work of all services during the border control of those yachts - police, customs, the Port Authority, that is, the health and sanitary inspection, which immediately after the arrival of the yacht, will individually hand over decisions about being placed in quarantine on board to all persons on board. Only after the expiration of the quarantine period of 28 days, the crew and other persons on board the yacht can go ashore and then all the rights and measures that apply to other citizens of Montenegro to prevent the spread of the coronavirus apply to them.
There is also a procedure for chartering yachts that visit Montenegro only to supply duty-free fuel, whereby none of the yacht's crew will be able to go ashore, all refueling activities will be carried out by operative marinas with the use of protective equipment and disinfectants, and the yacht must to leave the Montenegrin territorial waters immediately after the completion of fuel loading without stopping in transit.
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