Auckland Council has dropped a proposed daily anchoring fee which would have seen superyachts and other foreign-flagged vessels of over 40m billed each time they anchored within Auckland’s navigable waters.

“Working with Auckland Council, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Emirates Team New Zealand, we were able to help Council appreciate just how much of a deterrent a daily anchoring fee would have been to foreign vessels planning to visit our shores, particularly for the Prada and America’s Cup in 2020-21,” says Peter Busfield, executive director of NZ Marine.

NZ Marine is the country’s marine industry association and represents marine companies and their respective boatbuilders and apprentices.

Auckland Council has worked with the marine industry to overhaul the plan, settling on a new, low, visitor-friendly 12-month navigation and safety fee for vessels over 40m in length. The services covered by the fee include the Harbourmaster maintaining navigation aids and maritime safety functions, and helping masters of visiting yachts over 40m LOA to find suitable anchorages among the more than 50 islands in the Hauraki Gulf.

These vessels will be required to pay a one-off annual navigation and safety fee of $20 plus GST per metre of vessel under the new requirements.

“It’s great to continue presenting the welcoming and cohesive front for which New Zealand is well known to the international superyacht community,” says Busfield. “We are keeping the door open for superyacht visitors from around the globe who want to experience our beautiful part of the world.”