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Boating in Portugal: licences, liability cover and light dues

Boating in Portugal is straightforward for holders of licences issued in the EU, which are recognised automatically. Visiting boats still need liability cover, and light dues are collected at the first port of call. We found no official alcohol limit for leisure skippers.

Emergency+351 214 401 919UKW 16[6]

Alcohol limit?check locally

Liability coverrequiredvisiting boats too[4]

LicenceEU licence recognised[1]

1 A foreign flagged boat calls at its first Portuguese port, 2 where the light dues are paid at clearance. 3 The entry in the transit log covers every further port on that voyage.

Which licences Portugal accepts

Leisure boats in Portugal may only be commanded by someone holding a suitable certificate of competence, the carta de navegador de recreio.[1]
Certificates issued by the authorities of EU member states are recognised automatically, with no need for a Portuguese licence.[1]
Licences from outside the EU can be recognised by the DGRM on application if they require comparable standards. The declaration must be issued within five days, and the DGRM keeps a public list of recognised licences, last updated in December 2023.[1][2]
Portuguese licences are graded by area: carta de marinheiro by day up to 3 nm offshore, patrão local up to 6 nm, patrão de costa up to 40 nm and patrão de alto-mar without limit.[1]
According to ADAC, the German automobile club, your licence must be valid in your home country for the boat you skipper, and the original must be on board.[7]

Compulsory liability cover

Owners of foreign leisure boats entering or leaving Portuguese ports through territorial or internal waters must have Portuguese compulsory liability insurance. Exceptions are a port of refuge and insurance in the country of registration that responds to the same cases.[4]
Minimum cover is EUR 249,398.94 per accident or series of accidents from one event, regardless of the number of victims or the type of damage, a figure converted from 50 million escudos.[4]
A leisure boat may not operate unless the insurance obligation is met, and the Autoridade Marítima can ask to see proof.[4]
For Portuguese registered boats the law names navigation types 1 to 4, type 5 with an engine and type 5 sailing boats over 7 m. ADAC describes the duty as covering motorboats and sailing yachts from about 7 m and notes that many marinas ask for proof.[1][7]
We could not find any newer regulation on compulsory cover under the 2018 law; the official gazette lists the 2001 Portaria as in force. Check before you travel.[1][4]

Light and buoyage dues

Foreign boats calling at Portuguese ports pay light and buoyage dues (taxa de farolagem e balizagem).[3]
On a voyage with several Portuguese ports, foreign leisure boats pay only once, at the first port of call. The Autoridade Marítima collects the dues at clearance and records payment in the transit log (livrete de trânsito).[3]
If the boat stays in Portugal longer than six months, the rate for Portuguese boats of the same class applies.[3]
Rates are set in a table annexed to the law and updated every year by Portaria. We did not find the current amount, so ask at your first port.[3]

Papers on board

The law lists the papers for Portuguese registered boats: boat log, licence, liability policy and, depending on the boat, radio licence and liferaft service records. It does not say which papers a foreign flagged boat must carry, so check before you travel.[1]
Keep proof of insurance ready for the Autoridade Marítima; the transit log shows that the light dues have been paid.[3][4]

Safety equipment by navigation area

Required equipment depends on the area a boat is rated for. The 2002 Portaria still uses the old categories A to D; whether the DGRM has issued a newer list, and whether it applies to visiting boats, is not documented.[5][1]
There must be enough lifejackets for every adult and child on board. Lifebuoys: one for 5 to 9 m, two over 9 to 15 m and four over 15 to 24 m, one of them with a 30 m floating line.[5]
Fire extinguishers must be dry powder, for example 1 kg on open boats with an outboard. CO2 and halon extinguishers are not permitted.[5]
Categories A, B, C1 and C2 need a VHF radio with DSC on channel 70; A, B and C1 also need a 406 MHz or Inmarsat distress beacon.[5]
Waterskiing and riding a jet ski require a lifejacket, and the towing boat needs a crew of at least two.[1]

Beaches, night riding and alcohol

Navigation is banned within 300 m of the water's edge off bathing beaches. Access to the beach is only through the approach lanes, slowly and at right angles to the shore.[1]
Follow the notices (editais) of the local Autoridade Marítima; coastal stretches and marine protected areas can be closed by Portaria.[1]
Jet skis may not be used between sunset and sunrise without an exemption from the Autoridade Marítima.[1]
We found no official blood alcohol limit for leisure skippers. ADAC quotes 0.5 per mille only for road traffic, so check before you travel.[7]

Towing a boat trailer in Portugal

Portugal's Highway Code (Art. 27) allows a car with trailer 100 km/h on motorways, 80 km/h on expressways, 70 km/h on other roads, 50 km/h in towns and 20 km/h in shared zones. Motorways also have a 50 km/h minimum.[8][9]
For passenger vehicles, Art. 56 forbids loads beyond the vehicle's outline, with fines of EUR 120 to 600. How this applies to a boat trailer is unclear, so check before towing.[8]

Maritime rescue in Portugal

MRCC Lisboa: +351 214 401 919. Azores, MRCC Ponta Delgada: +351 296 281 777. Madeira, MRSC Funchal: +351 291 213 112.[6]
The general emergency number 112 also works.[6]

Have proof of insurance and your original licence to hand at your first Portuguese port, and keep the transit log with the light dues entry on board afterwards.

NAMMERT customers can get their liability confirmation in English.

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