Antibes (France), 11 September 2024 - The PYA and other representatives of the yachting industry, met with the new Prefect Maritime (PREMAR) responsible for French Med operations, as well as with officials from French Maritime affairs. The objective of the meeting was to discuss the yachting season and any relevant topics.

Vice Amiral d’Escadre Christophe Lucas was nominated on 2 September 2024. The fact that he agreed to meet with the yachting industry only 9 days after being appointed, is an indication of how important he realises professional yachting is for the region. This was confirmed during the 5-hour meeting in Cannes.

Among the issues raised by the PYA, these will be followed by concrete actions:

- Over the season, a number of captains complained about the situation in the congested St Tropez area, where tenders and other vessels were going at unsafe speeds. Additional speed limits and/or more frequent maritime police patrols will be implemented.

- A number of captains highlighted the fact that their vessel was boarded by Customs and Immigration officers several times over a set period and how inconvenient this can be, especially with guests on board. A registry of "cleared vessels" will be considered.

- Yacht crew using the official and continuously updated application Nav & Co have raised concerns about the fact that, when zooming in, the app was cluttered with too much information. The PREMAR agreed to review the content of the App. Should you be using Nav & Co, please do send us any suggestions for improvement which we will incorporate in our discussions with the PREMAR);

- Last year, a number of captains were prosecuted for infringing anchoring regulations in French waters. Having been in contact with several of these captains - who, for the most part, were acting in good faith - I know how upsetting this experience was. I urged the PREMAR that, in the future, they order the maritime police to be more lenient with first offenders but, be very severe with repeat offenders - such as those vessels seen at anchor in prohibited areas 5 or 6 times over a 4-day period. Together with the various administrations, we will seek to organise a 1/2 day meeting with the office of the maritime prosecutor, to "inform and educate" them about superyacht operations.

As seen above, the PYA will continue to be exchanging regularly with the PREMAR and his office. Should there be any issues you would like us to raise during our discussions, please send an email to info@pya.org and we will act on your suggestions.

Christophe Bourillon PYA's CEO.