Sailign before deregistration in Greece

[colombo]

Hi all,

I have bought in Greece. Bill of sale received. Insurance paid and active. Boat paid for. SSR completed. Decals applied.

The only hold up is that the boat has not yet been removed from the Greek registry.

I have read on another forum that it is fine to sail it, as the SSR part 3 is not a "proper" registry? However the seller seems to think otherwise and is saying it is not ok to move it, even within Greece. I sent the bill of sale some 6 weeks back and I've been sat on the boat for a while now, waiting to go.

Any thoughts? I'm receiving conflicting info from various parties.

[boatman61]

I would not have sent the original Bill of Sale, I would have sent a photocopy.
In your shoes I would remove the registration number, ask the SSR office to send a PDF of your registration and stick on your SSR number then sail.
I assume the deregistration papers will be sent to your home address..
Oh.. I forgot, you don't have the Bill of Sale..
Greeks can be notoriously slow with paperwork.

[colombo]

I have my SSR number on the side of the hull and a pdf of the uk ssr.

I do have a photo of the completed bill of sale. The thing is that the boat is not removed from the Greek register. The seller is adamant that has to happen before moving it anywhere. The broker and local chandlery think not (although the broker is now chiming along with the seller). One complication is that the transit log needs to be issued, as it is being sold EU VAT unpaid. Issuing that log prior to the deregistration date could possibly cause issues apparently?

They've also yet to deliver the outboard and the chart plotter, which all seems a little blatant as a ploy to prevent any departure.

[boatman61]

I assume the Registry Office is in Athens and not local else I'd be chasing it up every day.
Even when I bought a French boat in the Caribe it took less than 6 weeks for the documents to be sent to Brest and returned to St Martin FWI.. mind the broker handled that as it all had to be in French.
Seems your just a source of foreign exchange at the moment and the longer your delayed the more they make.
Can't you get the broker to chase it up with a phone call to see what the hold up is.
Hope its resolved for you soon..

[Stewie12]

I would ask the broker to resolve this for you as that is what he got his commission for. Put the pressure on him.

[jmschmidt]

Sorry but you're screwed.

[GEH]

I had some experience in Greece years ago. I am hesitant to say this, but a Greek boatowner friend told me that in order to expedite such matters with the 'authorities' the specific person responsible will respond to an offer of 'expenses' to attend to it urgently (as overtime?)
I do agree that the broker should really assist you as he has a responsibility of care for both vendor & buyer.
Persevere.

[colombo]

Thanks all. I am leaning on the broker, who is leaning on the fixer in Athens, who has been paid to sort it promptly. I assume they are not contributing enough of their cut to the authorities to get it done at a pace though....

Allegedly she's in the Athens office paying sales tax today. I was also told that was happening last week, so its a good day to be a total pain to the seller and broker, and to try and get the fixer's number.

[GEH]

One last thought. For the protection & assistance of foreign visitors in Greece there is a dedicated formation called the Tourist Police which is integrated in the national police force. If you 'Google ' it you will find the details & contact numbers . Consulting them about, say , alleged fraud might be a measure of last resort?