Greece Transit Log correct procedure

Irish Rover

Irish Rover

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I’ve checked in to Greece twice this year and obtained a Transit Log. On both occasions I’ve been told by the Coast Guard that I should check-in and check out with the local Coast Guard every time I enter or depart a port. The Cruising Association say in their guidance notes it is only necessary to visit the Coast Guard at the port of entry to Greece and the port of departure. On my current trip I visited the Coast Guard in Ikaria. When I arrived in Leros they asked me what port I was arriving from and I said Ikaria but the officer there apparently had not stamped the transit log and the guy in Leros made a big song and dance about it. I’ve asked a couple of other boat owners I’ve met over the last 2 weeks and some always cost the Coast Guard and some never do. My question- what is the CORRECT procedure not what individuals may or may not do in practice.
 
Can't answer that one and I not sure you going to find the answer here ,most of us will have DEPKA not cruising log .
If the question was about DEPKA but it not , then the answer is once in every 12 month period or just before to get your new yearly stamp .
 
The CA page is mainly focused on the DEKPA not the Transit Log but confusingly manages to conflate the two at times by using Transit Log when I think they mean DEKPA. Given the fact that you’ve encountered PP requesting that you check in and out of each port of call, I’d go with that guidance..... but you’ll soon encounter a PP office which isn’t interested in you. Don’t loose any sleep over it and remember you’re in Greece.
 
duncan99210 said:
The CA page is mainly focused on the DEKPA not the Transit Log but confusingly manages to conflate the two at times by using Transit Log when I think they mean DEKPA. Given the fact that you’ve encountered PP requesting that you check in and out of each port of call, I’d go with that guidance..... but you’ll soon encounter a PP office which isn’t interested in you. Don’t loose any sleep over it and remember you’re in Greece.
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Duncan I sure I read else where that Irish rover was looking at buying a transit log .
Correct me if I am wrong OP
 
sailaboutvic said:
Duncan I sure I read else where that Irish rover was looking at buying a transit log .
Correct me if I am wrong OP
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I’m Jersey registered and I’m on a transit log. My first transit log was issued in Preveza and they told me I should report to the Coast Guard at every port. On that occasion I was going directly to Lefkas and I asked was it necessary to check in there again and they were adamant it was necessary. My current transit log was issued in Pythagorio a couple of weeks ago and again the Coast Guard officer told me I needed to report to the Coast Guard at every port I visit.
 
It is a bit of a rat's nest, Irish Rover, and I agree with you that CA advice is written in a way that somewhat conflates DEKPA and Transit Log issues. So many factors apply: flag state, nationality of owner; state of residence of owner; and more.

If I remember correctly, in your case we have a boat flagged to a non-EU country (but one which is a de facto part of the EU customs union for trade but not for VAT), owned by an EU national who is not EU resident. I'm also aware that your boat is not EU VAT paid, but the issue must surely either accommodate boats which have been EU VAT paid and retained that status, or ignore VAT altogether. Often you read suggestions that the question hangs on a vessel's status as an "EU vessel", but I've not seen this defined in any clear, comprehensive and consistent way. (For instance, official UK sources suggest it hangs on both flag and owner's country of residence; EU official sources, and older UK sources, mention residence only. I know you've done a fair bit of digging on this and may have encountered the same anomaly.)

Since the Greek PP couldn't even agree how often a DEKPA should be stamped, I'd say the chance of finding unanimity on your question is slim. Pragmatism rules. Good luck.
 
Agree with macd - so complex unlikely that you will get a definitive answer, let alone agreement from each PP office. Pragmatically it is the flag that sparks off the interest because it is the visible sign that the boat is from outside the EU and therefore (simplistically) requires a Transit Log, even though the papers may show that it is owned by an EU resident and is VAT paid. So expect to attract attention from the PP, and in your case their assumption is correct.

So, to me self preservation would lead me to report at each port and be pleasantly surprised if the particular officer does not want to go through the full procedure, although I would ask for a stamp!
 
Remember that in Irish Rovers case we are talking about a Transit Log, not a DEKPA: that is a document issued to a non EU resident to enable him to use a non-VAT paid boat in EU/Greek waters. The problem with the CA website is that it sometimes refers to a DEKPA as a Transit Log, which it isn’t: a DEKPA is a document issued to all EU vessels in Greek waters mainly in anticipation of a cruising tax.
So the rules laid out in the CA site are fine for the majority who have a DEKPA, what they don’t do is address the more complex situation regarding non-VAT paid boats owned by non-EU residents. I’ve no idea what those rules are nor is there a readily available explanation that I’ve come across, hence my advice to Irish Rover to go with the flow and do whatever the local PP ask him to do....
 
jordanbasset said:
Will be interesting to see if post Brexit we have to have a transit log for Greece and other E.U. Countries, seems a lot more hassle than a DEKPA
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By "we" I assume you mean UK residents?

I don't think many EU countries have a transit log system. In the event of the UK having "third country" status after Brexit, the likely worst case is that leisure craft owned by UK residents would have "Temporary Importation" status, limiting their stay to 18 month per visit. For most UK boat owners this would be no great hardship other than an extra level of form-stamping. In most EU states, TI is applied for and granted simply by the fact of entering EU waters.
 
macd said:
By "we" I assume you mean UK residents?

I don't think many EU countries have a transit log system. In the event of the UK having "third country" status after Brexit, the likely worst case is that leisure craft owned by UK residents would have "Temporary Importation" status, limiting their stay to 18 month per visit. For most UK boat owners this would be no great hardship other than an extra level of form-stamping. In most EU states, TI is applied for and granted simply by the fact of entering EU waters.
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As I keep a boat in Greece you will not be surprised that answer doesn't reassure me
 
I guess I wasn’t really expecting a definite answer to my opening question. The transit log doesn’t explicitly say it is necessary to report at every port but it has 4 pages amounting to 28 individual sections to record arrival, departure and next intended port. I’ve visited 8 different Coast Guard stations over the last 3 weeks and none of them were surprised to see me or told me it wasn’t necessary to get my log stamped. Some wanted separate visits to record arrival and departure and some were happy to stamp both at the same time. It does seem it’s a requirement to check-in and checkout but I doubt it’s a capital offense not to do so. Still it’s no great bother so I’ll just keep doing it in future. Did my final checkout this evening and back to Turkey in the morning.
 
jordanbasset said:
As I keep a boat in Greece you will not be surprised that answer doesn't reassure me
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Don't worry: they'll only let you near your boat for three months in every six, anyway.

More seriously, it's to be hoped post-Brexit visa requirements for UK nationals will be a little more relaxed than that. But they might not be.

You've no doubt met plenty of non-EU sailors who live with TI on a regular basis, plus the 3-in-6 visa hassle. At least you'll have somewhere not too distant to re-set the TI clock at your leisre, notably Albania and Turkey.

What does surprise me is the mind-set of all these folk who expect to leave a club yet retain full members' rights.
 
Irish Rover said:
I guess I wasn’t really expecting a definite answer to my opening question. The transit log doesn’t explicitly say it is necessary to report at every port but it has 4 pages amounting to 28 individual sections to record arrival, departure and next intended port. I’ve visited 8 different Coast Guard stations over the last 3 weeks and none of them were surprised to see me or told me it wasn’t necessary to get my log stamped. Some wanted separate visits to record arrival and departure and some were happy to stamp both at the same time. It does seem it’s a requirement to check-in and checkout but I doubt it’s a capital offense not to do so. Still it’s no great bother so I’ll just keep doing it in future. Did my final checkout this evening and back to Turkey in the morning.
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That is exactly what we all had to do some years back ,
Before my the yearly stamp , it was a monthly stamp and before that it was every port .
We hadn't many many years when this was the case but very few use to go in every time and in them Days it wasnt unusual to be told to go away . , I can clearly remember going months without getting it stamp and if question we say we been anchoring on islands where we couldn't find the pp , most of the time their couldn't care less other time you been told you must check in and out , but that was it .
So much have change now and with these fines reported for over due stamp , I not sure I would risk it .
By the way we in Leros maybe move on Sat if your still around , maybe see your mate who give you the going over :)
 
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sailaboutvic said:
That is exactly what we all had to do some years back ,
Before my the yearly stamp , it was a monthly stamp and before that it was every port .
We hadn't many many years when this was the case but very few use to go in every time and in them Days it wasnt unusual to be told to go away . , I can clearly remember going months without getting it stamp and if question we say we been anchoring on islands where we couldn't find the pp , most of the time their couldn't care less other time you been told you must check in and out , but that was it .
So much have change now and with these fines reported for over due stamp , I not sure I would risk it .
By the way we in Leros maybe move on Sat if your still around , maybe see your mate who give you the going over :)
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Thanks Vic. We’ve moved 4 or 5 times since and enjoying our last night in Greece this trip in Pythagorio. Home to Kuşadası in the morning. If you see my pal you can tell him I’m permanently damaged psychologicaly by the dressing down he gave me and I’m exhibiting classic signs of inadequacy but the good news is there’s still enough juice in the batteries to flush the loo.
 
Irish Rover said:
Thanks Vic. We’ve moved 4 or 5 times since and enjoying our last night in Greece this trip in Pythagorio. Home to Kuşadası in the morning. If you see my pal you can tell him I’m permanently damaged psychologicaly by the dressing down he gave me and I’m exhibiting classic signs of inadequacy but the good news is there’s still enough juice in the batteries to flush the loo.
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I wouldn't flush the loo with batteries juice , MAN ant you leaned anything . :)
 
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