Boat checks Ionian

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Jobs a good un

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Good day all
Thought I best give heads up on port police activities in Ithaca , kioni.
Our neighbour was boarded and boat impounded due to out of date flares and fire extinguisher, apparently they are checking on black charters as well .
He got fined 150 Euro and was not allowed to move boat until receipt for new flares and fire extinguisher were produced at police station.
Regards to all

Mark
 
Jobs a good un said:
Good day all
Thought I best give heads up on port police activities in Ithaca , kioni.
Our neighbour was boarded and boat impounded due to out of date flares and fire extinguisher, apparently they are checking on black charters as well .
He got fined 150 Euro and was not allowed to move boat until receipt for new flares and fire extinguisher were produced at police station.
Regards to all

Mark
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark, but please could you give more information about the boat in question, eg flag, ownership, whether owner actually on board etc?

Richard
 
Hi Richard

It was a Bavaria 36 moored on quay in Kioni .
SSR reg , owner was on board we were out walking .
I replaced both flares and fire extinguisher next day .
Port police 3 things they are looking out for is flares , extinguisher and black charters .
Regards
Mark
 
Jobs a good un said:
Hi Richard

It was a Bavaria 36 moored on quay in Kioni .
SSR reg , owner was on board we were out walking .
I replaced both flares and fire extinguisher next day .
Port police 3 things they are looking out for is flares , extinguisher and black charters .
Regards
Mark
Click to expand...

Thanks again Mark.

That is worrying as those particular PP seem to have decided to apply Greek regulations to a foreign flagged and owned boat which was clearly not out on charter. The question which then arises is what actually are the Greek regulations?

Do you have to carry any flares at all? If so, what flares are you expected to carry?

Do you have to carry extinguishers? What type? How many? Location on boat? What if they are not dated but have a pressure gauge?

Obviously, I'm not expecting you to answer these questions ... but I even wonder whether the PP can? :ambivalence:

Richard
 
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RichardS said:
Thanks again Mark.

That is worrying as those particular PP seem to have decided to apply Greek regulations to a foreign flagged and owned boat which was clearly not out on charter. The question which then arises is what actually are the Greek regulations?

Do you have to carry any flares at all? If so, what flares are you expected to carry?

Do you have to carry extinguishers? What type? How many? Location on boat? What if they are not dated but have a pressure gauge?

Obviously, I'm not expecting you to answer these questions ... but I even wonder whether the PP can? :ambivalence:

Richard
Click to expand...

Hi, strange that they checked on a SSR boat but to answer the question the Greek coastguard has a detailed chart of what is required depending on private / charter and how many people the boat is licensed to carry.
It is in Greek though and intended for Greek flag vessels... in any case, no matter how many you carry, you need:
3 hand flares
one smoke flare
and one foam or CO2 or dry powder extinguisher (they do not specify capacity).

Hope the above helps.
 
I was told by a chandlery in Lefkas yesterday that PP are looking for each boat to carry 3 parachute flares, 2 smoke and 3 handheld, all in date of course. At least 1 fire extinguisher that is either serviced annually or, if with a gauge, be in the green and less than 10 years old. Liferafts, if carried, have to be within current service date and lifejacket for each person aboard and components in date.
I guess the picture will become gradually clearer as people get direct experience of inspections but none of the above seems unreasonable to me.
 
vyv_cox said:
I have not carried flares for years. Dangerous things whose effectiveness is very suspect. So it seems very unreasonable to me.
Click to expand...

This year I made a conscious decision not to replace my flares for the reasons above. I believe that I have sufficient safety equipment on board for our survival should disaster strike.
Additionally I carry an in date Liferaft which contains flares so should I decide that I actually need to let one off, I will get it from the Liferaft (which I will probably have already launched by that time!!!).
We are no longer in Greece but it would be interesting to see if the PP would open a canister Liferaft to check that there are flares in it...
 
RupertW said:
And is it lawful for them to do those checks - not that that will stop PP but will make defending fines a bit easier.
Click to expand...

Almost certainly - or rather it is not unlawful. It is well established in principle that "comity" - that is respecting the laws of other states in respect of manning and equipment only applies if the vessel is on "innocent passage" through another coastal state's waters.

Therefore non Greek boats that are cruising in Greek waters can be subject to the coastal state laws, which as we know are very prescriptive. The same situation arose in Portugal a few years ago, including inspecting boats at sea. After a bit of toing and froing involving both governments and the RYA, Portugal established a set of rules that said any foreign flagged boat that stayed long enough to be deemed "resident" - set at roughly 6 months would have to comply with local requirements for its class- inevitably for most Cat A ocean but boats on passage or temporarily cruising in their waters did not. A somewhat similar situation exists in New Zealand using a similar distinction as to when local rules apply.

It would be helpful if the Greeks would adopt a similar set of rules with very clear requirements and consistent application. (Voices off stage saying something about pigs and aviation). As noted above it would not cause too many problems for well found boats except as Vyv mentions there are many of us who don't carry flares on principle.

There is more explanation of these issues on the RYA site, but the above is a reasonable precis.
 
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Irish Rover said:
Do the Greek authorities accept electronic flares. Are there any reports of similar inspections in the Aegean?
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Inspection by the harbourmaster at Thassos has been going on for some time, but not necessarily for safety reasons. His brother runs the local chandlery.....

That's the only case I have heard of in the Aegean but that does not rule them out.
 
No idea on Greek rules but in France, foreign flags are not required to carry flares unlike French registered, but can be fined for out of date flares under some sort of pyrotechnics legislation.
If the PP wanted a receipt for new flarez I assume the Greek situation is different.
 
vyv_cox said:
I have not carried flares for years. Dangerous things whose effectiveness is very suspect. So it seems very unreasonable to me.
Click to expand...

Fair comment Vyv. I guess what I really meant was that the idea of safety checks was not unreasonable. Unfortunately I have gone back to carrying pyrotechnics now in addition to my laser flares, not something I wanted to do.
 
OK guy so , I find this very strange ,
There hundreds if not thousand of boats cruising from all,over the world , once in X year we get these reports ,
Well I not sure about you guys but we know quite a lot of cruisers who we in contact one way or another on a weekly bases and no one have said there been boarded know anyone that have been boarded or know anyone who know anyone that been boarded , it seems the only place these odd report are every reported is on YBW .
Agree or not but don't you think if this was going on in any scale if be the talk of Greece , just like the tax .
What I will say , is if people don't stop going into PP asking questions I can see a can or worms opening up .
As for Kioni , it one port we use a lot when we in the Ionian, we been in there twice this year once just a week ago before heading south , I have never seen a PP in that small harbour .
What I did see the other week was a Greece flag boat run by a English guy and his wife/Partner doing a private charter ,
Who didn't know his ass from his elbow , in a cross wind he drop his chain down wind then went on to cross mind and next door chain , maybe this is the same boat the OP talking about .
I not saying the OP report isn't true ( again the OP didn't see it happen him self ) what I am saying is , if this was going on I think by now we would had heard about it .
So far the Med sailing group haven't reported any thing , nor as the CA that I know of nor as STW , only here on YBW .
I wait to I see it with my own eyes or hear from someone I personally know who seen it with his own eyes before I start worrying about it .
AND Kioni of all places a small harbour in the middle of nowhere , surely Vathi would had been the place to check as the PP office is just by the harbour and we all know how the PP like their seat in their office and there TV .
 
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vyv_cox said:
I have not carried flares for years. Dangerous things whose effectiveness is very suspect. So it seems very unreasonable to me.
Click to expand...
I am with you all the way , I wouldn't carry them any more no matter what the PP say ,
It would be another matter if my country flag required me to carry them , then I would be looking at reg my boat und r another flag .
If the skipper and owner of a yacht , if I feel some thing is dangerous to life and his boat and crew as the skipper he can ague the right not to carry them , if then I was told I had to I would leave Greece rather then carry them .

fire extinguisher are another matter .

But if I was any of you guys I stop worrying about these reports until it become officially.
Just one last word about what some have been told by PP they visited .
if you know any thing about Greece you know Many PP have no idea what the law is and make it up as they go alone .
 
sailaboutvic said:
I am with you all the way , I wouldn't carry them any more no matter what the PP say ,
It would be another matter if my country flag required me to carry them , then I would be looking at reg my boat und r another flag .
If the skipper and owner of a yacht , if I feel some thing is dangerous to life and his boat and crew as the skipper he can ague the right not to carry them , if then I was told I had to I would leave Greece rather then carry them .

fire extinguisher are another matter .

But if I was any of you guys I stop worrying about these reports until it become officially.
Just one last word about what some have been told by PP they visited .
if you know any thing about Greece you know Many PP have no idea what the law is and make it up as they go alone .
Click to expand...

I have updated the Vathy story on Liveaboard following info given by a CA member who was present.
 
Just edit my posting

Just seen the posting on the liveaboard section.
Or it wasn't a private British SSR boat as reported but a Greece charter boat .
 
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