In short
- Lines ashore: under 70 m. Since 25 Apr 2026 the whole boat, its chain included to where it enters the water, must lie under 70 m from the shore. (Official source, )
- Beaches: unchanged since 2025. Anchor at least 150 m from a natural beach, and keep your swinging circle 50 m outside a rope line. (Official source, )
- Near Šibenik and Biograd: no sailing in the St Anthony channel, no anchoring in the Krka channels to Skradin, and 8 kn for every boat in the Pašman strait. (Official source, )
- Fees and closures: at anchor in a county port you pay 50% of the berth fee, and ACI Žut's piers have been closed since 25 Jun 2026. (From the operator, )
What changed, and when
We read the 2025 ordinance, its 2026 changes and the port authority's fee rules on 26 Sep 2026, and ACI's notice about ACI Žut on 5 Oct 2026. This is the order things changed in.
- 29 Mar 2025
A new maritime safety ordinance comes into force. It sets the beach distances and a limit of 50 m for boats tied ashore. (Official source, )
- 25 Apr 2026
The ordinance changes. Boats tied ashore may lie further out, under 70 m from the shore, and there are new rules for the St Anthony channel, the Krka and the Pašman strait. (Official source, )
- 25 Jun 2026
ACI closes the piers at ACI Žut, in the Kornati, until further notice. The anchorage stays open. (From the operator, )
- 1 Aug 2026
A news report shows receipts for anchoring in Vinišće, west of Trogir, from the county port authority. What it charged (Third-party source, )
- 5 Oct 2026
Our last reading. Each rule below links the official text we read, and its source mark shows the day we read it.
Lines ashore: further out since April 2026
Tying a stern line to a rock or a tree is normal in Croatian bays. The 2025 ordinance limited how far out you could lie to 50 m. (Official source, ) The 2026 changes raised the limit, so the boat must now lie under 70 m from the shore, and said how to measure it. (Official source, )
Measure to where the chain enters the water. The chain counts as part of the boat, from the tip of the bow to the point where it goes in. That point must be under 70 m from the shore. (Official source, )
The limit was 50 m until 24 Apr 2026. The change came into force on 25 Apr 2026. If a briefing or an older guide still gives you the old limit, go by the official text.
Before and after, rule by rule
What the 2026 changes did to the rules a charter crew is most likely to meet. The left column is the 2025 text, the right the text in force since 25 Apr 2026.
| Rule | Until 24 Apr 2026 | Since 25 Apr 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Lying tied ashore | Less than 50 m from the shore. (Official source, ) | Under 70 m, with the chain measured to where it enters the water. (Official source, ) |
| Pašman strait, off Biograd | 8 kn only for boats of 15 m and over. (Official source, ) | 8 kn for every boat in the marked parts. (Official source, ) |
| St Anthony channel, into Šibenik | Boats under 20 m pass at any time, on the right. (Official source, ) | The same, but no sailing in the channel. (Official source, ) |
| The Krka to Skradin | No article of its own. (Official source, ) | No anchoring in the St Josip and Skradin channels, except in their bays, and 8 kn up to Skradin. (Official source, ) |
| An organised beach's rope line, under way | Under way, a boat under 15 m kept at least 50 m from an organised beach's rope line, a boat of 15 to 30 m 100 m, and seaplanes 300 m (Article 49). (Official source, ) | The April 2026 changes moved only seaplanes, from 300 m to 100 m. For boats the distances are the same as in 2025. (Official source, ) |
Every anchoring rule in force today is on one graphic in our anchoring guide: Anchoring rules 2026 at a glance.
The 2025 beach rules still stand
The rules people argued about most in 2025 did not change in 2026, and they apply to every boat, not only to cruise ships. How far to keep from natural and organised beaches, and how to pass a beach's rope line, are in our anchoring guide, with a "Can I anchor here?" check.
- Off Hvar town
- No anchoring within 0.6 NM of Galešnik islet, at the western entrance to Hvar town, out to the line from Cape Špartibutin to Cape Kovač (Article 67). (Official source, )
New rules near Šibenik and Biograd
Three changes of 25 Apr 2026 matter to crews sailing from the charter bases in North Dalmatia, or north from Split to the Krka.
ACI Marina Skradin on the Krka, from the hill above the town. The new Krka rules run all the way up to its harbour.
- St Anthony channel
- Sailing is forbidden in the St Anthony channel, the way into Šibenik harbour (Article 66). (Official source, )Go through under engine, on the right side of the channel.
- The Krka
- No anchoring in the St Josip channel, or in the Skradin channel from Cape Oštrica on Prokljan up to Skradin harbour. Boats up to 15 m may anchor, and people may swim, only in the channels' bays, inside their outer edge (Article 66a). (Official source, )From the line between the Martinska light and Crnica bay up to Skradin, go no faster than 8 knots (Article 66a). (Official source, )From the inner end of the St Anthony channel to Skradin is about 9 NM by water. (Measured by us, )
- Pašman strait
- In the marked parts of the Pašman strait, off Biograd, every boat, yacht and ship keeps to 8 knots (Article 64). (Official source, )
Fees: paying at anchor in a county port
The rule on who may charge you is the same as before. Only a company with a concession for that anchorage, or the port authority inside a public port, may charge you for anchoring. Anywhere else, nobody may. (Official source, )
What is new is where crews meet it. On 1 Aug 2026 a news report showed receipts from the Split-Dalmatia County Port Authority for nights at anchor in Vinišće, a bay inside one of its ports. In summer 2026 the county port authority charged €15.15 a night to anchor a 10 m boat in Vinišće and €21.24 for a 14 m boat: half the berth fee, plus a 1% waste fee. (Third-party source, ) The port authority's own rules say what it may charge there.
More bays may follow. In 2024 Split-Dalmatia County adopted a plan of 69 places for managed anchorages, with 109 buoy fields for up to 1,857 boats. It is the basis for future anchorage concessions. (Third-party source, )
What a public port may charge at anchor, the fee in Vinišće and the catamaran rate are in our anchoring guide: Who can charge you, and how much.
Closed: the piers at ACI Žut
ACI Žut sits on the island of Žut, on the way into the Kornati. In a normal season ACI Žut has 120 berths and 15 mooring buoys, open from 1 Apr to 31 Oct. (From the operator, )
ACI Marina Žut in 2006, with yachts on its pontoon. Today its piers are closed.
- The piers
- ACI closed the piers at ACI Marina Žut on 25 Jun 2026, until further notice, for technical inspections and checks of the structure. You cannot berth there. (From the operator, )
- The anchorage
- The Žut anchorage in ACI's concession stays open as usual. (From the operator, )
- If you booked
- Guests with a berth booked were offered a berth at ACI Marina Piškera for the same dates and on the same terms, or a full refund. (From the operator, )
- Today
- On 26 Sep 2026 ACI's page for the marina still said its pontoons and restaurant are closed until further notice, and that its other facilities work as usual. (From the operator, )
- On the water
- ACI lists 15 anchoring buoys at Žut, and says the anchorage continues to operate as usual while the pontoons are closed. (From the operator, )
Before you go, check ACI's own page for the marina. We read it again each time we update this report.
What didn't change
- Anchoring outside a concession or a public port is still free. Nobody else may charge you. (Official source, )
- The beach distances of 150 m and 50 m are the same as in 2025. (Official source, )
- The fee rules in Vinišće are the port authority's rules of June 2023, with changes in 2025 and 2026 that touch only a few dry berths. (Official source, )
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