Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean outlines exemption mooring zones following protests by French yachting association

Following a meeting organised at the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean on Friday 18 June, the prefecture has released a statement on the proposals for new exemption mooring zones put forward by French yachting association SOS Navigation.

In a letter to SOS Navigation president Mathieu Reix, the Vice-Admiral of the Laurent Isnard grants four exemption zones out of the fifteen proposed by SOS Navigation.

The zones were selected after consultation with professionals and experts. The following criteria were devised:

• Absence of cymodocea Posidonia in the proposed areas
• Distance greater than 0.1 Nq from the coast of the proposed areas
• Elements of maritime safety (depth, shelter in bad weather etc.)

The exemption will begin over the summer season and last until 15 October 2021. The exemption zones include areas covering Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, north of the port of Théoule-sur-Mer, Golfe-Juan and an anchoring zone will be created for vessels over 80m off Antibes.

A document of maps showing the mooring zones will be distributed.

These changes have arrived following sustained protests in May across France organised by SOS Navigation against mooring regulations for yachts over 20m and 24m in environmentally protected areas. The protests included sounding the horns of yachts daily to express the frustrations of workers until a response was received from the authorities.

The full letter can be found on SOS Navigation's Facebook page.