Venice Yacht Pier Srl - Port Procedures and Regulations

Venice Port Procedures and Regulations - 500 - 2000 GRT

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.

If your vessel is commercially registered you're going to be subject to ISPS as outlined in our Port Security section. At least 48 hours before arrival you will need to have filled out an ISPS pre-arrival form which your agency should ensure is forwarded to the appropiate 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 over 500 GRT will require a pilot on board, and also mooring men to assist tying up. 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

At least 2 hours prior to 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.

Vessels should then liase with the pilots' station and await the arrival of the pilot launch if not already present. To reduce congestion around the entrance, waiting is prohibited within 2 nautical miles of the head of the breakwater. Anchorage is possible in the vicinity of 45°25'N 012°30'E however captains should avoid a dangerous wreck located 3.5 nautical miles south of the north easterly tip of the Lido breakwater. Additionally vessels should avoid mussel beds which are located 6 nautical miles to the south east of the Lido breakwater - the exact position of the beds is marked by four cylindrical buoys. A red buoy moored at 45°22'N 012°33'E marks the centre of a circular area of radius 500m where navigation and anchoring are prohibited. Captains should note that when reporting to the pilot station, they should indicate their position relative to the head of the southerly most Lido breakwater.

Pilots will generally board in the vicinity of a buoyant light beacon (about 2.25nm SE of the breakwater heads) however this can change in the case of adverse weather. In the event of any delay to your ETA, it's vital that your agency is informed. Please note that if you're running late, pilots and mooring men will standby for up to 1 hour from the time booked by your agency before getting reallocated to other jobs.

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. Your pilot who is in constant contact with the pilot station will give you the green light once it's safe get underway. Vessels navigating the major canals in the same direction must maintain a distance of at least half a nautical mile and overtaking is forbidden.

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

Even if the pilots know this better than anyone, once inside the lagoon speed limits come into force. As a guideline, vessels over 500 GRT are required to proceed at the minimum necessary speed to maintain manoeuvrability - preferably at 6 knots or less. We recommend taking special 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.

Due to the sheer volume of traffic, vessels over 500 GRT are forbidden from making full 180° turns in the historic centre. As you can see on our map, if you've reserved an alongside berth at either Riva San Biagio or Riva dei Sette Martiri you will make your approach from Lido in a starboard to position. Therefore, if you're required to go port side to, the only solution is to proceed through the St. Mark's basin, and along the Giudecca canal to one of the port's designated turning areas which is located directly in front of the cruise ship terminal. To view an illustration of this procedure please click here.

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 and a representative of Venice Yacht Pier standing by ready to assist.

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 present, your agency should shortly be along to welcome you, and also assist you with any question or request you might have.

Commercially registered vessels subject to the ISPS code must abide by the rules outlined in our Port Security section. Those vessels requiring a DOS (Declaration Of Security) should ask their agency to arrange a meeting between SSO and PFSO.

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 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.

Pilot, and mooring men should be present at least 10 minutes before the time which was booked by your agency. Before moving your pilot 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, pilots and 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 making a shift: pilot, and mooring men should be present at least 10 minutes before the time arranged by your agency and before casting off the pilot will contact the harbour master on VHF 16 requesting permission to move.

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.