Mandatory maritime requirements

The Advance Notice of Arrival (ANA) form needs to be completed by the owner/master of the vessel and submitted at least 48 hours before arrival in New Zealand territorial waters – 12 nautical miles.

A Maritime Declaration of Health (MDH) - must be submitted 12-24 hours before arrival at the same time as the No Change of Health Status Report. 

A MDH must be completed by all first porting vessels, even if there is no illness on board. The MDH must be completed by the master of the vessel and countersigned by the ship’s surgeon if there is one. It should be completed and provided to the Medical Officer of Health or a Health Protection Officer when the No Change of Health Status Report is submitted. In practice, completed MDH are often sent to the vessel’s agent for forwarding to health authorities.

Any illness reported on the Advance Notice of Arrival should be further detailed in the Maritime Declaration of Health.

Maritime declaration of health (PDF 312KB)

A No Change of Health Status Report - must be submitted 12-24 hours before arrival.

The ship’s Master must provide a ‘no change of health status’ confirmation 12-24 hours before arrival (Health (Quarantine) Regulations 1983 Regulation 10). The confirmation must be submitted to the Medical Officer of Health or a Health Protection Officer at the ship's port of arrival. The time of ‘arrival’ is considered to be when a ship reaches the pilotage area or reaches an anchorage point in the vicinity of the pilot station. The pilot station is the point at which the ship is considered to be under pilot instruction, i.e., where the pilot will board the ship.

No Change of Health Status Report - Editable PDF- (PDF 81KB)

The ship’s master must submit documentation to satisfy New Zealand legal requirements for issuing pratique (quarantine/health clearance). This function may be undertaken through the ship’s agent on behalf of the master.

The Advance Notice of Arrival, the Maritime Declaration of Health, and the No Change in Health Status information must be received in order for a ship to be granted quarantine clearance (pratique).

Pratique must be applied for no earlier than 24 hours and no later than 12 hours before arrival. For health purposes, the time of ‘arrival’ is considered to be when a ship reaches the pilotage area or place of intended disembarkation e.g. the Subantarctic Islands.

While in New Zealand waters, the Master of a ship must inform the local Medical Officer of Health or a Health Protection Officer when any person on board in any harbour at any time has symptoms which may reasonably be suspected to be caused by a notifiable infectious disease (Health Act 1956 Section 76).

A notifiable infectious disease is one listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Health Act 1956.

This applies even after the vessel has been issued pratique.

• Ship Sanitation Certification system 
• Cruise ships 
• Health (Quarantine Inspection Places) Notice 2014 
• Health guidance for maritime passengers and crew

• Public Health Contacts
• New Zealand Customs Service
• New Zealand Customs Service – Commercial ships
• New Zealand Customs Service – Recreational vessels, yachts and small craft
• New Zealand Customs Service – Trade Single Window
• Trade Single Window – registration and user log in
• Ministry of Primary Industries - Biosecurity New Zealand
• New Zealand Legislation – Health Act 1956

The Trade Single Window is an electronic channel for the cargo and excise industries to submit information to and receive responses from border agencies (New Zealand Customs Service, Ministry for Primary industries, Maritime New Zealand, and the Ministry of Health). It allows border agencies to use shared information to process craft and cargo data efficiently. Get more information on the New Zealand Customs website.

To register for Trade Single Window go to tsw.govt.nz.

The Vessel Management Framework is a cross-agency and industry tool that can be used for international maritime arrivals when a quarantinable disease is suspected or known to be onboard a vessel. The intention is to manage health risks whilst minimising interference with the free flow of people and goods.

Vessel Management Framework (PDF, 686KB)