Legal frame
Governing: ΓΚΛ 20 arts 2, 4, 26 and 27 (ΦΕΚ Β' 6543/2022, consolidated 2025), as amended by ΦΕΚ Β' 4559/24.07.2026; law 4926/2022 art. 10(5). Builds on: Bareboat Chartering in Greece L4.1.
Start with what is not there
If you have anchored in the Balearics or on the Côte d'Azur you will be looking for the Greek equivalent of the posidonia decree or the préfecture's 24-metre rule. We did not find one. The texts read for this course (ΓΚΛ 20, ΓΚΛ 23, the repealed law 4256/2014 and law 4926/2022) contain no national ban on anchoring over posidonia and no length-based anchoring declaration.
An NGO, the Archipelagos Institute, says Greek and EU law prohibit anchoring on posidonia. EU law protects the habitat, but we found no Greek text that turns that into a ban with a fine for a yacht at anchor. Treat the claim as unconfirmed, and treat posidonia as something you avoid because it is the right seamanship (see L3.1), not because a national rule says so.
What does limit you comes from three places:
- ΓΚΛ 20, the general port regulation for speedboats and water-sports craft, which sets distances around swimmers.
- Local decisions by each Port Authority, usually seasonal (L1.2).
- Park decrees for specific areas (Module 2).
The ΓΚΛ 20 distances
ΓΚΛ 20 art. 4(1)(ι) applies to anyone driving a speedboat. That includes most yacht tenders: an outboard over 30 HP on a hard boat, or over 15 HP on a RIB, makes it one (art. 2(1)). The skipper of a speedboat may not navigate:
| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| Bathing area marked with buoys | Not within 100 m of the outer edge of the buoys |
| No buoys, swimmers present | Not within 200 m of where swimmers usually reach |
| Within 200 m of the coastline, no swimmers | Not faster than 5 kn |
| Bad weather | Not at all |
Art. 4(1)(η) adds a duty that matters more than it looks: the skipper must apply the special port regulations and the decisions of the local Port Authority, including those on anchoring, shifting berth and bans on movement in particular sea areas or at quiet hours. That is the hook for every local ban in L1.2.
Inside the buoys: the 2026 change
Bathing buoys are laid by beach operators and, where the Port Authority asks, by the municipality (art. 26(1)–(2)). Until July 2026 art. 26(3) banned anchoring of powered craft inside them. ΦΕΚ Β' 4559/24.07.2026 rewrote it:
Inside the sea area of the buoys, the movement and anchoring of any powered pleasure craft, private or rented, is prohibited, unless otherwise provided.
"Unless otherwise provided" covers marked launching channels. Art. 27(3) allows a public channel up to 10 m wide for private craft to leave and return to the beach.
CAUTION — Who the word covers The 2026 text uses "θαλάσσιο μέσο αναψυχής", which ΓΚΛ 20 defines by reference to its own water-sports parts. Whether a yacht or its tender is caught in law is an open question. In practice, treat the buoyed zone as closed to anything with an engine, including your tender.
Yachts, day boats and size
Law 4926/2022 art. 10(5) leaves the anchoring and waiting positions of day-cruise boats to the port operator or the Port Authority. Nothing read sets a national rule by yacht length. For superyachts the limits are the same local and park rules as for everyone else, applied with a much larger swing circle (see Foreign-Flag Superyachts in Greece).
TIP — The practical rule Anchor outside the buoys with your whole swing circle clear, run the tender at 5 kn or less inside 200 m of the beach, and never through the buoyed area.