13 April 2022

New mooring regulations in the Calanques National Park

Since 2021, the Calanques National Park in Marseille has been subject to various regulations which can make visiting it more complex.

In this article, we will try to explain in a few words the new protection measures that are applied there and to enlighten you on the anchoring and navigation regulations that could save you from a heavy fine.

First of all, watch the video presentation of the Calanques de Marseilles shot by the Voile Evasion team.

Our partner Navily, the reference application for the choice of anchorages, has concocted a small interactive map of regulations which you will find below.

Map of regulations

You can click on the anchorage you are interested in and on the different areas indicated to understand what restrictions it is subject to.

Ban on anchoring for vessels over 24 metres

In general, it is now forbidden for all vessels over 24 metres to anchor beyond the limit represented by a black line on our map. This regulation was adopted to protect the Posidonia meadows from the impact of the largest vessels. There was an urgent need to act because Posidonia meadows, the pivotal system of the Mediterranean, lost an average of 20% of their surface area during the 20th century.

This does not seem to be an insurmountable problem for the yachting enthusiasts that we are, since the sailing boats and catamarans that we offer for hire rarely exceed 50 feet = 15 metres.

Limitation of the number of boats rented in the calanques

The other change is the number of boats available for hire in the Calanques National Park. There are now 600 boats available for hire in the Calanques, and only 60 to 80 of these are authorised to be hired with a skipper.

When renting your sailboat or catamaran with Voile Evasion, we will make sure that our partner has the necessary authorisations to sail in the park. Indeed, renting a boat without a permit is now considered a prohibited economic activity in the heart of a national park, and will be punishable by a maximum fine of 75,000 euros and two years in prison.

Here are the different signs set up in the national park.

Any motorboat authorised to be rented in the Parc des Calanques must have an authorisation sticker for professional rental.

If you wish to hire a vessel with a skipper, in addition to the authorisation sticker for professional hire, the vessel must have a special authorisation sticker for professional driving.

All detailed information anchorage by anchorage

You now have the general information you need to start your visit to the Calanques National Park in Marseille in the best possible conditions!

If you wish to have more detailed information on the possibilities of anchoring in the Calanques, we invite you to browse the blog of our friends from Navily which you will find below: https://blog.navily.com/blog/navigation-parc-national-des-calanques/