ICC PB2 IN GREECE

[vas]

The Greeks, don't you just love them, almost all avoid/evade paying taxes and yet a perfectly competent skipper, able to navigate his boat through their waters with an ICC, might be fined. Well, I suppose someone has to pay their tax bills.........!

not quite right I'm afraid there.
If OP boat was larger and foreign flagged (as in a 30+ ft yacht) they wouldn't even stop him.
Go in an anchorage/port in the summer, with say 20 boats anchored, 18foreign, 2greek, guess who they'll visit - the greek ones.
I know I've been there. Port police don't bother (usually) with the foreign boats easy money to be made by locals. If they fine you, iirc minimum fine is 500euro.
Fishermen in small (like 3-4m) boats suffer the most, if you happen to catch a 7cm fish instead of 8 which is the minimum, it dies when you remove the hook and you decide to take it home to feed the cat you get something like 600euro if they happen to catch you (happened to a friend)
Where foreigners do get it badly is on illegal rental of yachts, a nice Elan43 is confiscated and stuck in Volos port now for two years. God knows how long the process will take, most likely it will sink before sorting out legal procedures and auction it...

V

 

[Greek Goddess]

Dear All

Thank you all for your helpful comments.

For clarity my situation is that I own a 75 metre rib with a 200 hp engine. The rib is Greek purchased (from new) and greek registered. The Hellenic coastguard were more than happy to register both boat and engine. (fees and tax of course!). They didn’t even ask for the licence when registering. When I was stopped in August (2020) they told me that everything was in order except the licence. They conceded that the licence was probably valid - in that I passed the test - but not in Greece unless it was accompanied with a) an official translation and b) a letter from the issuing Govt department OR signed by the Ambassador or I guess the Consul too.

The problem lies in the fact that the Hellenic Coastguard don’t recognise the fact that the RYA are authorised to issue licences for POWERBOATS because they cannot get their heads around the fact that a licence for a motor vehicle is not issued by the Ministry of Transport as theirs are!! He explained that they recognise RYA yacht licences because they are powered in the main by sail. The boss chap at Kalamata (very helpful albeit had his arm tied behind his back by the chaps in Athens) showed me his licence which looks like an driving licence. He also stated that the Greeks believe that the places where the British go to undertake the courses and take the tests are privately run and not government controlled!! Whilst I explained the Coastguard Agency were governed by the Ministry of Transport back in the UK they still didn’t acknowledge this.

I spoke to Carol Paddeson at the RYA who managed to obtain a letter (email) from the British UK ministry of transport (shipping and coastguard agency) which declared that the RYA was authorised by the British govt to issue powerboat licences. They still wouldn’t accept this letter because it was addressed as ‘TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN’. She also told me that at the beginning of 2019 that the RYA was approached by the Greek Consulate in London and asked to clarify the RYA’s position and to provide the authorisation documents etc etc from the UK govt. These were duly provided and the matter went quiet - until this August when I contacted them and let them know what had happened to me. Apparently they are trying to sort this out.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Greeks have the right to set their own laws of course, but owners and hirers‘ of powerboats should be made aware that it isn’t that simple to produce in ICC and all will be fine. Instead they will be fined and told not to use their boats. Most people (including Greek hire companies) don’t know of this small part of Greek maritime law. Honestly it‘s a tiny paragraph within the huge tome of Greek shipping law!!

Sooooo, the situation is that my lawyer has submitted by documents (included the Apostille) and letter from the UK govt and the official translation to the Ministry of Shipping and we are awaiting the outcome. I hope the RYA are doing their bit as I have stated before that I didn’t think it was my fight alone!!