The PYA is very pleased to share with you the good news that the French government has agreed to remove a significant portion of the yachting sector from its Décret Etat d’Accueil legislation, and the famous Cabotage Declaration issue we have been dealing with since the end of last year will no longer apply to commercial yachts that comply with the “70% rule”.

The letter recently sent to MYBA by Franck Dosne, Director of the Ports of Nice and Cannes.

This law would have obliged Captains of all foreign flagged commercial yachts under 650 GT to complete official forms and supply supporting documentation to the authorities 72 hours prior to the start of any single voyage commencing in French waters. In addition to the usual ship documents and crew list, this legislation would have also required a copy of each crew member's SEA, a copy of each crew member's last pay slip and proof of each crew member's social security contribution.

Having been alerted by MYBA to this potential minefield for yachts operating out of French ports, the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie leapt into action and the PYA, ECPY, GEPY and IYM quickly joined forces. Together, we lobbied the French government, with the support of MYBA’s French lawyers, Ince & Co.  During two round-table meetings with various government bodies and numerous exchanges on the subject, we were able to make the case that the new legislation, in force since 1st November 2015 and applicable to all commercial maritime activity, should not apply to charter yachts whose main activity takes place outside French territorial waters.

Congratulations and thanks are due to all those involved in achieving this extremely positive result, with special recognition to Franck Dosne, Director of the Ports of Cannes & Nice. It is testament to the power of joint lobbying that we were able to achieve this very positive result, in a relatively short space of time.

This is yet another example of the type of work PYA does behind the scenes for the benefit of all those working on large yachts.