FR-GUIDE-L5.2

Where to get help: CROSS, VHF 16, 196 and the offices that matter

FR-GUIDE-M5 · On the coast · FR-GUIDE-M5-A Coastal and anchoring rules on the Riviera and Corsica, emergency contacts, offices and penalties.

When something goes wrong, or a file stalls, you need the **right number** and the **right office**. Here they are, with the penalties that make them worth knowing.

Numbers and offices

Governing: Préfecture maritime de la Méditerranée; Division 240 (VHF watch); décret 2026-434; loi 2026-798 art. 11. Builds on: L3.1, L4.1, L5.1.

At sea: the CROSS

France's maritime rescue coordination centres are the CROSS (centres régionaux opérationnels de surveillance et de sauvetage). On the Mediterranean coast, including the Riviera and Corsica, you deal with CROSS MED.

Need Channel
Distress, urgency, man overboard VHF channel 16 (and DSC)
Same, from a phone 196 (sea-rescue number)
Anchoring declaration or request, 45 m and over The sémaphore for your sector (AP 157/2024 annex I)
Ashore emergency 112

The Préfecture maritime publishes the rule plainly: 196 or VHF 16. Division 240 also requires a pleasure boat with a VHF to keep watch on channel 16 at sea, on top of a visual lookout.

TIP — 196 is for the sea Guests who call 112 about a swimmer in trouble off the beach will be passed on, losing time. Brief tender drivers and the beach-club team to call 196 or use VHF 16.

Ashore: the offices

Office What it does for crew
RIF guichet unique, 5 place Sadi Carnot, Marseille Visas (1–3 working days), dispensations (1–4), fiche d'effectif, permis d'armement, jury national for RIF yachts
DIRM (interregional sea directorate) Titles, revalidation and visas for non-RIF French ships
SSGM Seafarer medicals, free
Portail du marin Your titles, visas and attestations as secure PDFs
Approved training centres Modules, module yacht, revalidation tests and courses
DDTM Leisure matters: permis hauturière, equivalence of foreign licences (Seine-Maritime)

Keep copies of everything on the Portail du marin. An inspector will accept the electronic original of a visa, and so should your management company.

Penalties worth knowing

The 2026 changes reached recreational helming but touch yacht crew through tenders and toys:

  • Décret 2026-434 (JORF 4 Jun 2026): new 4th-class fines for helming a motor pleasure boat while manifestly drunk and for failure to control speed. The permis can be withdrawn for up to a year and the boat confiscated.
  • Loi 2026-798 (in force 20 Aug 2026): helming a motor boat that requires a permis with 0.80 g/L blood alcohol, or 0.40 mg/L in breath, or more carries 3 years and €9,000. With drugs as well: 5 years and €15,000. Drugs alone: 3 years and €9,000.
  • Préfet maritime orders (speed, anchoring): up to 1 year and €150,000 (L5242-2).
  • Non-compliant master embarked by the owner: a 4th-class contravention (L3.2).

WARNING — the crew bar and the tender An evening run ashore in the tender after dinner is exactly what loi 2026-798 was written for. Set a yacht rule: whoever drives the tender after dark has not been drinking.

What to carry, in one list

  • Your CoC and, on a French-flag yacht, the visa or the 3-month attestation.
  • A seafarer medical the French accept (L3.3).
  • Valid support certificates.
  • For a master or deputy: the B2, NP-1 or jury evidence.
  • For the yacht: permis d'armement, fiche d'effectif, and the host-State 72 h declaration if foreign-flag and in scope.

Summary

At sea, CROSS on VHF 16 or 196. Ashore, the RIF guichet for RIF yachts, the DIRM for others, the SSGM for medicals, the Portail du marin for documents. The 2026 alcohol rules make the tender run the place most crew will meet French criminal law.

Practice questions

5 questions

recall · core

Which telephone number reaches the CROSS for sea rescue in France? (a) 999 (b) 15 (c) 196 (d) 17

recall · core

Which VHF channel does Division 240 require a boat's VHF to watch at sea? (a) 9 (b) 6 (c) 13 (d) 16

recall · core

Which office handles recognition visas for RIF yachts? (a) The SSGM (b) The RIF guichet unique in Marseille (c) The DDTM of Seine-Maritime (d) The Préfecture maritime

recall · core

Under loi 2026-798, what is the penalty for helming a permis-requiring motor boat with 0.80 g/L blood alcohol, without drugs? (a) 3 years' imprisonment and €9,000 (b) 5 years and €15,000 (c) 1 year and €150,000 (d) A 4th-class fine

scenario · core

At 2300 a deckhand driving the tender back from Saint-Tropez sees a swimmer in difficulty 200 m off the beach. The guest beside him grabs a phone and dials 112. What should the deckhand do? (a) Leave it to the 112 call (b) Call the RIF guichet unique (c) Call CROSS on VHF 16 (or 196) and assist if safe (d) Report it to the marina office in the morning

Independent study. xplor is not affiliated with the French maritime administration (DGAMPA), the ENSM, the RIF guichet unique or any préfecture maritime, is not an approved bateau-école or training centre, and awards no title, permit, certificate or endorsement. Nothing in this guide counts towards any French title, module or assessment; titles, visas and dispensations are granted only by the French administration, and training is delivered only by approved providers. AI-drafted content pending subject-matter-expert review.