yacht fees

American Samoa may review

AMERICAN Samoa’s Gov ernor Owen S. Aspinall said in November that he was prepared to consider lifting current mooring charges on cruising yachts so that they would have no fees to pay in Pago Pago for 30 days.

Governor Aspinall said this when asked to comment on a yachtsman’s complaint in PIM for November (p. 107) that there was “an unfavourable climate for yachtsmen” in Pago Pago because of the introduction of high mooring fees.

There are no fees for vessels staying less than five days. How ever, vessels between 30 and 40 ft in length must pay $2O if moored to their anchor and $25 if moored to a government buoy. Vessels 60 ft and over must pay $4O if moored to their own anchor and $5O if moored to a government buoy.

These rates are for the first month in port. The rates double in the second month and triple in the third.

In addition, yachtsmen are assessed $2 for policing of the harbour; 50 cents for each con tainer of rubbish dumped; and 25 cents for 240 gallons of water drawn from the boat shed.

The mooring fees have been in force since last April.

Replying to complaints about the mooring fees, Governor Aspinall said that the authority to introduce them was granted by a law passed in the 1966 Legislature of American Samoa.

Although the government did not want yachts staying a long time in habour, he might be receptive to a 30-day grace period whereby yachts would be charged no mooring fees.

Governor Aspinall said that while most yachtsmen had been welcome visitors to Samoa, some had come and gone again, leaving their yachts behind them.

One abandoned yacht had been in harbour, moored to a government buoy, for nearly two years.