America's Cup 36 - Commercial Chartering

AC36 will be contested in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf from 6th-21st March 2021.  This will be preceded by the Prada Cup Challenger Selection Series that is billed to take place in Auckland in January to February 2021.  This will determine which team will challenge the defender, Emirates Team New Zealand.

Peter Dawson attended the recent Marine Transport Association America’s Cup Forum in Auckland where New Zealand Marine, Maritime New Zealand, and Auckland Transport provided briefings as to the preparations under way for the event.  Takeaways from the Forum include:

Berthing

It is anticipated that about 120 superyachts (>45m) will be attending the regattas.  Given that there will not be sufficient berths to accommodate all of these vessels, those vessels larger than 25m wishing to berth at Viaduct Marina or Silo Marina between 1 October 2020 and 31 March 2021 should register their expression of interest at www.ac36hub.co.nz by 1 August 2019.  This is only six weeks away.

Local charter vessels

It was disappointing to hear that local charter vessel operators appear to have been side-lined in the development of the Viaduct and Wynyard quarter.  Given the pressure that there will be on berth space in the America’s cup precinct, local operators appear to have been pushed aside and have no certainty on where and how they will be able to pick up passengers.  Auckland Transport and Panuku Developments (charged with development of the America’s Cup precinct) were given a clear heads up that this was not acceptable to MTA members, and that local operators expected even handed treatment.

Commercial charter of foreign-flagged vessels

Many incoming vessels will be seeking to undertake commercial charter over the (approximately) 3 months of the America’s Cup and the precursor events.  Under New Zealand’s Temporary Import Entry (TIE) regime, foreign-flagged vessels may undertake commercial chartering for up to 65% of the time that they are in New Zealand.  Maritime New Zealand is currently working on streamlining the process for assessing these vessels to provide them with a permit to operate commercially whilst in New Zealand.  They anticipate issuing permits for the 3-month window of AC36 and the precursor events.

Broadly speaking, vessels above 45m seeking to undertake commercial charter, that are entered into one of the 5 class societies recognised by Maritime New Zealand, and have an operating ISM system, should be able to access the New Zealand commercial charter market during AC36.  Maritime New Zealand have yet to identify a clear pathway for these vessels to apply for a permit to operate.

For vessels under 45m that are not in class, the position is less clear.  Maritime New Zealand’s current position is that applications will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.  There is an underlying requirement that to obtain an exemption from the prerequisite to be in the New Zealand Maritime Operator Safety System (MOSS), the operator must satisfy Maritime New Zealand that the vessel meets or exceeds the equivalent New Zealand Maritime Rules.  This will include a review by Maritime New Zealand of the vessel’s safety management system.  Whilst operating as a commercial charter vessel, the vessel is required to be crewed to an equivalent manning level as a comparable New Zealand vessel, and will generally have reference to Maritime Rule Part 31 to determine whether there are sufficient crew for the safe operation of the vessel, taking into account the equivalence of foreign certificates.

For further information, email Peter Dawson at peter@maritimelaw.co.nz, or phone 03 544 1967.