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Tell us the route and the dates
Where you are coming from, where you are going, and whether Philipsburg is the point of the visit or a convenient place to clear on the way past.
Philipsburg - south-coast clearance in Dutch Sint Maarten
Philipsburg / Great Bay Yacht Clearance Agent
Great Bay is the capital's bay: an anchorage, a commercial port with deep-water berths, and a Dutch-side clearance location. Send the vessel, crew, route and timing details for review and, where a local agent is available, an introduction.
Philipsburg / Great BayClearance location for Dutch-side Immigration and Customs
Philipsburg and Great BayGreat Bay, Philipsburg and the commercial port on the south coast
Manual reviewEach request is assessed before an agent introduction.
Local assistance
How our Philipsburg / Great Bay yacht clearance service works
Great Bay suits a route down the south coast, or a yacht that wants the capital rather than the lagoon. The clearance requirement is the same Dutch-side one that applies at Simpson Bay. What differs is the berthing question, because this is a working commercial port with a published set of berths as well as an open anchorage.
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Settle anchorage or berth
Anchoring in the bay and taking a commercial or marina berth are different arrangements with different people. Length and draught decide which are open to you.
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An agent handles the formalities ashore
Where a local agent is available and takes the work on, they confirm where and when to present, prepare the file and coordinate Immigration and Customs. Availability is not guaranteed and the decisions stay with the authorities.
Clearance checklist
What to have ready for a Philipsburg arrival
The documents are the standard Dutch-side set, the same as anywhere on this side of the island. What is particular to Great Bay is the last two lines: where you intend to lie, and the dimensions that decide whether that is possible.
✓Ship registration and flag details
✓Passports for everyone aboard, with a crew list and a passenger list
✓Clearance (zarpe) from your last port of call
✓Proof of insurance for the yacht
✓Proof of ownership, or written authority to operate the yacht
✓Where applicable: customs or temporary-admission evidence, skipper qualifications and charter papers
✓Planning detail: whether you intend to anchor in the bay or take a commercial or marina berth
✓Planning detail: length overall and draught, and your expected dates alongside or at anchor
Local process
Arriving at and departing from Great Bay
Two threads run in parallel at Philipsburg: the border formalities, which are the Dutch-side standard, and the berthing arrangement, which is specific to this bay.
Report to Immigration and Customs
Published guidance names Great Bay in Philipsburg as a Dutch-side clearance location alongside Simpson Bay, with reporting due immediately on arrival and before departure.
Decide between the anchorage and a berth
Port St. Maarten publishes an anchorage in Great Bay in roughly forty feet of water, and notes negligible tide. It also publishes commercial berths, with most yachts lying at Windjammer West or Windjammer North, and a marina able to take vessels up to around a hundred and twenty feet. Which of those is open to you follows from the yacht's length and draught.
Plan the approach
Port St. Maarten describes a deep-water approach to the terminals, with Proselyte Reef as the hazard to note. Confirm the current position for your draught before you commit to a track.
Arrange what you need alongside
Fresh water, waste oil and black water removal, glass recycling and a fuelling station for large yachts near the Windjammer berths are published as available here. What you actually get, and what it costs, is arranged with the operators rather than assumed from this page.
Clear out before you sail
Outward clearance is a separate step, due before departure. Settle anything outstanding with the authorities and berth operators involved, and give as much notice of the departure date as of the arrival.
St. Maarten requirements
Border, Customs, yacht-status, insurance and maritime requirements.
Clearing in at Philipsburg
Published guidance is that all vessels arriving in Dutch Sint Maarten waters clear in and out through Immigration and Customs, and names Great Bay in Philipsburg as a clearance location alongside Simpson Bay, with reporting due immediately on arrival and before departure. Great Bay is on the south coast rather than at the lagoon, but it is the same jurisdiction and the same border requirement.
Anchoring and berthing are different arrangements
Port St. Maarten publishes an anchorage in Great Bay in roughly forty feet of water with negligible tide, and separately publishes commercial berths, with most yachts at Windjammer West or Windjammer North and a marina taking vessels up to around a hundred and twenty feet. Anchoring, a commercial berth and a marina berth are arranged with different parties on different terms. Confirm which is available to your yacht, and on what basis, before you arrive.
What does not arise here
The Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority and the two lagoon bridges belong to a lagoon visit. A yacht clearing and lying at Great Bay is not transiting a bridge and is not entering the lagoon, so those steps do not form part of this arrival. Charges here come from the authorities and operators actually involved, and the basis is theirs to state rather than something to infer from time alongside.
FAQ
Philipsburg / Great Bay Yacht Clearance questions
Can I clear in at Philipsburg / Great Bay?
Yes. Published guidance names Great Bay in Philipsburg as a Dutch-side clearance location alongside Simpson Bay. Vessels arriving in Sint Maarten waters clear in and out through Immigration and Customs, reporting immediately on arrival and before departure.
Should I clear at Great Bay or Simpson Bay?
Both are Dutch-side clearance locations in the same jurisdiction, so the border formality is the same either way. The practical difference is where you want to be: Great Bay puts you off the capital on the south coast, Simpson Bay puts you at the lagoon entrance. Pick the one that suits your route and your berthing plan.
Can I anchor in Great Bay, or do I need a berth?
Port St. Maarten publishes both. There is an anchorage in the bay in roughly forty feet of water, and there are commercial berths, with most yachts lying at Windjammer West or Windjammer North, plus a marina taking vessels up to around a hundred and twenty feet. Which suits you depends on length, draught and what you need alongside. Availability is confirmed by the operators, not by this page.
Do the lagoon charges or the bridge schedule apply here?
Not to a Great Bay visit. Those belong to the Simpson Bay Lagoon and its bridges. Charges at Great Bay come from the authorities and berth or marina operators actually involved, and they set the basis and the amounts.
Personal clearance support
Send the voyage details once. We help route the request.
Use this page for Philipsburg / Great Bay arrival, departure and St. Maarten yacht-paperwork assistance.