Bonaire Info

[peter.bomberg]

Hi Everyone,

What are the rules and regs regarding boat ownership , moorings, taxes and so on in Bonaire?

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Peter

[s/v Jedi]

Are you talking about registering the boat in Bonaire? If so, I don't think that can be done. Bonaire was always part of the Netherlands Antilles so you had to register the boat in Curacao. But I think they became independent (from the Antilles, think of it as a province of the Netherlands now) so it might have changed.

cheers,
Nick.

[peter.bomberg]

They are independent (or rather a Dutch province) but I am not sure on the rules etc... The issue is I need to figure it all out but I am not in a panic as I don't own the Cat yet.

[s/v Jedi]

Okay, I know this: if you don't have a Dutch passport you will need to erect a company to register. It might be much easier (and cheaper) to register the boat in the same country as your passport.

The problem with that is that you will only get a limited time allowed in Bonaire before you are forced to either leave or import the boat there. Taxes for import will be severe as the Dutch tax levels are the 2nd highest in the world (made us emigrate from Holland!)

ciao!
Nick.

[peter.bomberg]

I can only stay on the island for 180 days per year, the question is can I leave the Cat there for the whole year (would be less as the plan is to sail it during the year) so in reality it would be about 2-6 months sailing, 2-4 months in Bonaire and the rest of the time in Canada but I need to figure out where to register the Cat and where to pay the duties!

[s/v Jedi]

Peter,

you can't leave the cat at a mooring in Bonaire and fly to Canada. These moorings are not for storage of boats and you need to leave in bad weather. You can put it in the marina, or choose Curacao: Spanish Waters is an all-year protected anchorage.

But when you register the boat in Canada, it has to leave every 3 months. Maybe you can get an extension for another 3 months but you need to be there to do that. I think you can store it on the hard at the Curacao Marine yard but that comes with the costs for their service and work. I think they can extend your storage indefinately with customs but better check that too as things are changing all the time.

When you register your boat in Willemstad, Curacao, you can leave it there for as long as you want but you need to erect a company on Curacao to be able to register it there. There are companies there to do that for you, you can find them on-line with Google.

cheers,
Nick.