The Association was recently advised of an increase in the incidents of fines, imposed by the Immigration Authorities in Argentina.

The following advice has been received from our local correspondents in Argentina.

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We have recently seen an increase of supernumeraries - mainly high ranked crewmembers' wives - arriving in Argentina without holding the necessary VISAs.

In such case, the carriers are subject to a fine imposed by the Migration Authorities which ranges from USD 400 to USD 10,000. The fines, until now, have usually been on the low side and did not imply significant expenditure for the Clubs and their Members.

In recent cases, the Immigration Authority has decided to place Coastguards officers on board, during a vessel's stay in territorial waters. The Immigration Authority seems to treat supernumeraries as stowaways thus requiring security guards to be placed on board. Normally two or three Coastguard officers will stay on board but we have seen occasions when 5 officers have been assigned on a single ship.

The above practice generates additional expenses for the Owners. As a rough example, a vessel which remains 5 days in territorial waters (three at the roads and two at berth) with one supernumerary without visa could face an expense of USD 10,000 plus the corresponding fine.

It is highly recommended that the Club's Members to ensure that every supernumerary or other passengers on board their vessels, is in possession of the required VISA, if there is a possibility for the vessel to call Argentinean ports.

The Nationalities which are required to hold a VISA can be found on the Argentinean Migrations' web site:

The ship's agents should also be consulted on every occasion.

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We shall keep monitoring the situation and will keep you posted.

Source of Information

Sebastian Trigub

Pandi Liquidadores S.R.L

E:

pandi@pandi.com.ar