The Harbour Captaincies authorise and license the filming / photographic sessions in all the Public Maritime Domain under their respective jurisdiction (on beaches, on the banks, underwater, with drone, on a boat, etc.).
However, Law no. 50/2018, of 16th August, approved the framework law for the transfer of competencies to local authorities, and DL 97/2018, of 27th November, established the framework for this same transfer in terms of maritime, fluvial and lake beaches.
Therefore, currently and in most cases, whenever we are facing beaches under concession and the so-called bathing beaches, the competence to authorise filming is in the sphere of the respective City Council, although the Captaincy must always issue an opinion regarding safety. In these cases the request for filming should be requested to the respective Town Hall, which will liaise with the Captaincy, thus avoiding the payment of double fees.
In all other areas of the beach (other than authorized bathing beaches) the competence remains with the respective Captaincy.
You can consult the jurisdiction of each captaincy here.
The authorisation request must be addressed to the Harbour Captain, accompanied by information about the activity to be performed:
- Complete identification of the production company (including the company legal number)
- Indication of the name and contact for the person responsible, for coordination and security purposes
- Exact location of the filming, with illustrative image
- Approximate number of people involved as well as the dates and times of filming
- Purpose and summary of the action
- Indication of the need for people to enter the water (ensure the presence of two properly trained lifeguards, equipped and ready to intervene in case of need)
- Indication of the use of vessels (send copy of booklets) or drones (need authorisation from the National Aeronautical Authority)
- Placement of any type of equipment or removable structure (indicate the size of the areas to be occupied)
- Indication of the need for vehicles to circulate on the beach
- Indication of the need to interrupt road traffic (due to the matter, the competent police body is the PSP / GNR)
- Indication of limitation on public fruition of the location
Captaincies will issue a dispatch indicating the safety conditions the applicant must comply with in order to proceed with the proposed activities, including, or not, the need for policing to be carried out by the Maritime Police (dismounted or by ship).
The request must enter the respective Captaincy with a minimum of 3 weekdays before the date of the activity. In case of non-compliance with the established deadline, an urgency fee will be applied, as predicted by the services chart provided by the Bodies and Services of the Maritime Authority (RESAM), approved by Ordinance No. 506/2018, of 2 October