Venice Yacht Pier Srl - Port Procedures and Regulations - Less than 500 GRT and Greater than 24m

Venice Port Procedures and Regulations - Less than 500 GRT and Greater than 24m

Section 1 - Pre-Arrival

The following is a check-list of procedures that should be undertaken before arrival.

First off you'll need to appoint an agency and ensure that a berth has been booked providing LOA, GRT, draft, and a copy of the certificate of registry. Additionally, in order to assist us and the port's authorities in the planning process, it's always helpful if any other berth related requirement (e.g. gangway only on port or starboard side) is communicated to the agency.

Where possible, it's always a good idea to give your agency an indication of any provisions or fuel you're going to be needing well before your arrival.

Any special security requirement you may have, should be communicated to your agency well before the expected date of arrival. Agencies in turn should make sure this information reaches the port authorities.

Your agency must ensure that a "berthing request" is presented to the harbour master's office at least 48 hours before arrival.

Likewise, your agency should provide you with a garbage form which has to be compiled and returned at least 48 hours before your arrival.

If you're going to be carrying dangerous cargo or firearms these must be declared at least 48 hours before arrival either through your agency or otherwise directly to the harbour master's office.

To speed things up on arrival, both crew and guest lists should be sent to your agency who in turn should make sure this gets forwarded to the immigration police.

At least 24 hours before the ETA, agencies should ensure that an arrival notification is sent by fax to the harbour master, pilots, mooring men, immigration police, customs authorities, and waste disposal authorities.

All vessels and agencies must ensure that authorities are quickly updated following changes to the ETA.

Vessels below 500 GRT do not require a pilot on board, although mooring men to assist with tying up are highly recommended. If requested, agencies should ensure that these are booked at least 24 hours before the ETA.

Tide tables and weather forecasts can be found on our weather page by either clicking here or on the link on the right.

Section 2 - Approach / Arrival

On approaching Lido breakwaters (click here for a satellite image), vessels should contact their agency by phone and also the Venice pilot station on VHF channel 13 to notify arrival. The pilots will double check with the harbour master's office that the procedures described above have been followed correctly before then authorising entry.

Due to the significant amount of traffic entering and leaving the lagoon through the Lido mouth (even large cruise ships of up to 110,000 GRT!), vessels leaving the lagoon are given precedence over those waiting to enter. The pilot station will give you the green light once it's safe get underway.

Sailing vessels must enter the lagoon under power and remain as such for the duration of the approach / arrival.

Once inside the lagoon speed limits come into force. As a guideline, vessels should proceed at the minimum necessary speed to maintain manoeuvrability - preferably at 6 knots or less. We recommend taking particular care when transiting the St. Mark's basin which can often be heavily congested with smaller craft.

Other local vessels crossing or entering the major navigable channel that leads to the berths have to give way. Captains should note that where possible, the centre line of the canal should be taken.

Although tidal ranges rarely exceed average sea level by much more than a metre or so, you should note that currents can be fairly significant around the three mouths of the lagoon. A 90cm high tide can generate a current of 3.6 km/h - add onto this meteorological conditions and you may witness currents as high as 5 km/h on entering the lagoon. As stated before, tide tables and weather forecasts can be found on our weather page either by clicking here, or by following the link on the right.

Although not forbidden for vessels of less than 500 GRT, we advise taking particular care when undertaking 180° turns in the historic centre. Patience is of the essence here as you'll have to give way to other traffic travelling perpendicular to the canal. When the coast is clear and you're ready to turn, make sure you signal.

Your agency should have communicated the exact position of your berth well before your arrival date. Apart from Riva San Biagio, alongside berths are identified by the numbers on the bollards. You can find plans of all the berths we control in the berths section of this site. Your pilot will assist you in identifying the bollards and as you approach you should be able to see the mooring men (if requested) and a representative of Venice Yacht Pier standing by ready to assist. In the event of a delay, mooring men will standby for up to 1 hour after the time booked by your agency before then getting reallocated to another job.

If the berth you reserved is at the mooring posts at Salute, you'll notice that your lines have to be tied to large steel rings - Click here for a photo. If your lines have spliced ends, we highly recommend having some shackles on hand in order to make life easier for the mooring men.

Once securely tied up, captains should ensure that all non essential electronic equipment such as radar is switched off in order to reduce to a minimum electromagnetic emissions.

Due to the high concentration of electricity and telephone cables lining the lagoon's bed, the dropping of an anchor is forbidden.

For any difficulty, make sure your agency is promptly notified, especially where changes have been made to your schedule.

Section 3 - On The Berth

If not already waiting at the berth itself, your agency should be along shortly to welcome you, and also assist you with any questions or requests you might have.

Both water and wi-fi internet should be available immediately for those berths that have it. Ask your agency if you need any help connecting up.

Garbage collection for those who've organised it, is on a daily basis by barge. Generally speaking collection takes place between 8 and 10 AM.

If berthed at either Riva San Biagio or Riva dei Sette Martiri, you may have noticed your close proximity to a residential area. To ensure ongoing good relationships with the local community we kindly ask all berth users to try and cut down loud noises after 10 PM.

If you're berthed at Salute it's important to ensure that your vessel is well lit up at night.

If you need to take fuel, you'll need to be moored at San Basilio or another commercial berth. Refuelling takes place via barge and can be duty free. Your agency should be able to provide you with all the information you need such as prices, shifting berth and timings.

The use of tenders is permitted in certain areas as explained on our tender guidelines page.

The discharge of any waste (liquid, gas or solid) into the lagoon is strictly forbidden. This even includes the use of cleaning chemicals such as detergents. If in doubt make sure you ask your agency beforehand to avoid paying a fine.

The use of on board helicopters, sea planes, jet-skis or any other water sports equipment is prohibited within the lagoon.

Swimming is forbidden within the historic centre.

Section 4 - Shifting / Changing Berth

This procedure is similar in many ways to the Pre-Arrival and Approach sections found above.

Your agency should firstly double check and reconfirm their booking with Venice Yacht Pier and then at least 24 hours before the shift, ensure an advisory fax is sent to the harbour master, pilots, and mooring men.

If requested, the mooring men should be present at the berth at least 10 minutes before the time which was booked by your agency. Before moving you should call the pilots on VHF channel 13 to request permission to move. They will contact the harbour master's office on VHF channel 16 to confirm the shift. As on arrival, in the event of any unforeseen delay, the mooring men will standby for up to an hour after the time booked by your agency before getting reallocated to other vessels.

Once underway, the same regulations detailed in Section 2 become applicable.

For any problem please make sure you contact your agency asap.

Section 5 - Departure

Before leaving check that your agency has returned your passports and that all bills have been settled.

24 hours before your ETD, your agency should send an advisory fax to the harbour master, pilots and mooring men.

The procedure for departure is very similar to that of making a shift: mooring men should be present at the berth at least 10 minutes before the time arranged by your agency and before casting off the pilots should be contacted on VHF 13 in order to request permission to leave.

Once underway, the same regulations governing navigation detailed in Section 2 become applicable.

Your agency should be contacted asap in the event of any problem.

The above information is provided purely as a guideline and is by no means exhaustive. If you can speak italian you will find more detailed information concerning all the regulations governing the Port of Venice by following the links provided on the right. Should you prefer, you can contact us via our online web email form or speak directly to your agency.