Mandatory maritime requirements
Mandatory documentation must be completed for processing purposes.
Pātiki and Waharua Kōpito patterns
Advance Notice of Arrival
Advance Notice of Arrival
The Advance Notice of Arrival (ANA) form needs to be completed by the owner/master of the vessel and submitted at least 48 hours before arrival in New Zealand territorial waters – 12 nautical miles.
The ANA is a legal Customs requirement. The owner/master is liable to prosecution if they do not submit the ANA in the required timeframe and if they do not provide the ANA in the specified form and manner.
Submitting the ANA
- For commercial vessels and cruise ships, the form must be completed in full and emailed to apicustodian@customs.govt.nz
- For recreational vessels, yachts and small craft, the form must be emailed to yachts@customs.govt.nz
- By separate email submit the ANA (without the attachments) to the relevant local Public Health Service at the vessel's first port of arrival
Mandatory documentation including the ANA:
- Commercial ships: customs.govt.nz/commercial-ships (external link)
- Recreational vessels, yachts and small craft: customs.govt.nz/yachts (external link)
- Cruise ships: customs.govt.nz/cruise-operator (external link)
Maritime Declaration of Health
Maritime Declaration of Health
A Maritime Declaration of Health (MDH) - is to be submitted 12-24 hours before arrival at the same time as the No Change of Health Status Report.
A MDH must be completed by all first porting vessels, even if there is no illness on board. The MDH must be completed by the master of the vessel and countersigned by the ship’s surgeon if there is one. It should be completed and provided to the Medical Officer of Health or a Health Protection Officer when the No Change of Health Status Report is submitted. In practice, completed MDH are often sent to the vessel’s agent for forwarding to health authorities.
Any illness reported on the Advance Notice of Arrival should be further detailed in the Maritime Declaration of Health.
No Change of Health Status Report
No Change of Health Status Report
A No Change of Health Status Report - must be submitted 12-24 hours before arrival.
The ship’s Master must provide a ‘no change of health status’ confirmation 12-24 hours before arrival (Health (Quarantine) Regulations 1983 Regulation 10). The confirmation must be submitted to the Medical Officer of Health or a Health Protection Officer at the ship's port of arrival. The time of ‘arrival’ is considered to be when a ship reaches the pilotage area or reaches an anchorage point in the vicinity of the pilot station. The pilot station is the point at which the ship is considered to be under pilot instruction, i.e., where the pilot will board the ship.
No Change of Health Status Report - Editable PDF [PDF, 81 KB]
Pratique
Pratique
The ship’s master must submit documentation to satisfy New Zealand legal requirements for issuing pratique (quarantine/health clearance). This function may be undertaken through the ship’s agent on behalf of the master.
Pratique must be applied for no earlier than 24 hours and no later than 12 hours before arrival. For health purposes, the time of ‘arrival’ is considered to be when a ship reaches the pilotage area or place of intended disembarkation e.g. the Subantarctic Islands.
Symptomatic person when in the harbour
Symptomatic person when in the harbour
While in New Zealand waters, the Master of a ship must inform the local Medical Officer of Health or a Health Protection Officer when any person on board in any harbour at any time has symptoms which may reasonably be suspected to be caused by a notifiable infectious disease (Health Act 1956 Section 76).
A notifiable infectious disease is one listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Health Act 1956 (external link).
This applies even after the vessel has been issued pratique.
More information
Related websites
Related websites
- Public Health Contacts
- New Zealand Customs Service (external link)
- New Zealand Customs Service – Commercial ships (external link)
- New Zealand Customs Service – Recreational vessels, yachts and small craft (external link)
- New Zealand Customs Service – Trade Single Window (external link)
- Trade Single Window – registration and user log in (external link)
- Ministry of Primary Industries - Biosecurity New Zealand (external link)
- New Zealand Legislation – Health Act 1956 (external link)
Trade Single Window
Trade Single Window
The Trade Single Window is an electronic channel for the cargo and excise industries to submit information to and receive responses from border agencies (New Zealand Customs Service, Ministry for Primary industries, Maritime New Zealand, and the Ministry of Health). It allows border agencies to use shared information to process craft and cargo data efficiently. Get more information on the New Zealand (external link)Customs website (external link).
To register for Trade Single Window go to tsw.govt.nz (external link).
Vessel Management Framework
Vessel Management Framework
The Vessel Management Framework is a cross-agency and industry tool that can be used for international maritime arrivals when a quarantinable disease is suspected or known to be onboard a vessel. The intention is to manage health risks whilst minimising interference with the free flow of people and goods.