SPYRO
RIVA SUPER OPERA 85 About SPYRO Introducing the 25.9-meter motor yacht SPYRO, a stunning Riva 85 Opera crafted in Italy by the prestigious Riva shipyard.
THE EYB COUNTRY GUIDES · Portugal
Match equipment to the boat's authorised use, read verified type 5 examples and check fire, gas and certification records before departure.
Boat safety equipment Portugal should be checked against the craft's authorised navigation and the people who will use it. A general shopping list can miss a condition or apply another category's requirement to the wrong boat. The Portuguese recreational code retains the equipment order, and the maritime authority provides a current-dated type 5 leaflet. This guide uses those official sources for a scoped checklist and practical preparation advice, without claiming that the examples cover every recreational classification.
Buyers can use the checks when reviewing the supplied inventory, while owners and sellers can compare the equipment aboard with the applicable records. Confirm an uncertain category or exception with the maritime authority before departure. Prices, replacement costs and the condition of an individual item need separate quotations or inspection. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Key facts at a glance
Article 62 expressly retains Portaria 1464/2002 with the necessary adaptations to the recreational code. (Consolidated text last amended 13 October 2020.)
Diário da República – Current recreational boating regime ·Point 2 requires equipment suitable for the navigation area that determines the craft's classification. (Portaria 1464/2002, published 14 November 2002; shown in force and retained by current code Article 62.)
Diário da República – Official equipment rules; older lettered clas ·The AMN type 5 leaflet requires enough lifejackets for everyone aboard, with suitable lifejackets for children. (AMN type 5 recreational-craft leaflet updated 18 December 2024.)
Autoridade Marítima Nacional ·The type 5 leaflet requires an access ladder where the distance from the water to the quarter or transom edge exceeds 50 centimetres. (AMN type 5 recreational-craft leaflet updated 18 December 2024.)
Autoridade Marítima Nacional ·Article 21 excludes safety-equipment data from the boat booklet. (Consolidated text last amended 13 October 2020.)
Diário da República – Current recreational boating regime ·Section 1
The recreational code classifies boats by navigation area and expressly retains the equipment order with the necessary adaptations. The order requires equipment suitable for the area that determines the classification. As a practical recommendation, start with the actual boat record and intended passage before reviewing an inventory. Ask the maritime authority how any older classification in the documents corresponds to the present boat's authorised use, rather than copying an old lettered category onto a modern numbered classification without checking the applicable position.
The equipment order has a specific provision about lifesaving and radio equipment when a boat operates in a more restricted navigation zone. That scoped rule should not be turned into a statement that every onboard requirement disappears on a shorter passage. As a practical recommendation, ask the authority which requirements and conditions apply to the actual operation before removing equipment or treating a reduced list as sufficient. Keep the response with your checklist so the interpretation is traceable to the boat and intended use.
The type 5 examples below come from the maritime authority's recreational-craft leaflet, which also identifies additional commercial-use provisions separately. They are useful scoped facts, not a complete inventory for every offshore yacht or a substitute for the applicable legal text. As a practical recommendation, identify the craft's real use and record before relying on a category-specific checklist. Obtain a separate authority check if commercial operation, a technical modification or an unclear classification changes the question you need answered.
Broker tip: Start with the boat's authorised classification and actual use, then confirm any older-category mapping or exception with the authority. Keep a scoped equipment checklist rather than treating one leaflet as the complete requirement for every yacht. See also our guide on whether you need a boat licence in Portugal.
Boat insurance and tax paperwork on a desk.
Classification and navigation
Section 2
The AMN type 5 leaflet requires enough lifejackets for everyone aboard, with suitable lifejackets for children. It requires an access ladder where the distance from the water to the quarter or transom edge exceeds 50 centimetres. As a practical recommendation, check the people and reboarding arrangements you will actually have, then ask a competent professional to explain any uncertain item's suitability or condition. Do not infer that an old equipment description proves the lifejackets fit the present passengers or that a ladder remains usable.
The leaflet lists a steering compass and a sound-signalling device, such as a horn or bell. It also lists an accessible bilge pump, permitting a bailer for craft up to five metres long. These are scoped equipment requirements, not promises about how the installed systems perform. As a practical recommendation, ask how the actual equipment is operated and whether its condition has been checked. Make an unresolved fault visible in the preparation file rather than marking the item complete simply because it appears in an advertisement.
A watertight torch with spare batteries kept in a watertight container is another listed type 5 provision. As a practical recommendation, locate it and the other applicable equipment during a handover, and make sure the people aboard know where essentials are stowed. Keep the supplier's operating and maintenance information where it can be consulted. This guide does not invent a universal replacement interval or guarantee that visible equipment will work; ask for appropriate inspection or replacement advice where age, damage or missing records cause uncertainty.
Broker tip: Check the actual equipment, passengers and access arrangements against the applicable type 5 conditions. Locate essential items during handover, confirm how they are used and record a fault or uncertainty before departure. Readers often go on to our guide on what boat insurance you need in Portugal.
Signing a boat purchase agreement.
Personal lifesaving provision
Buying or selling a boat in Portugal and want a second opinion? Speak to one of our brokers.
Section 3
The equipment annex requires a one-kilogram dry-powder extinguisher for open or partly open craft with an outboard motor, excluding the stated personal-watercraft case. For an inboard engine as the main propulsion without a fixed automatic extinguishing system, it requires a two-kilogram dry-powder extinguisher by the engine compartment. As a practical recommendation, identify the boat's actual layout and system before choosing an item. Ask a competent person to confirm the condition and suitability of the supplied extinguisher rather than selecting only by a sales photograph.
The annex permits equivalent substitutes for powder extinguishers but prohibits carbon-dioxide and halon extinguishers. As a practical recommendation, have an uncertain substitute assessed against the applicable requirement before relying on it. Record where the installed equipment is kept and whether access is obstructed, with the operating information available to the people aboard. The official sources here do not establish a shop price, standard servicing bill or a universal expiry for every extinguisher, so obtain the relevant supplier or service quotation separately.
The gas provisions describe cylinder arrangements outside habitable spaces with external ventilation and an installation shut-off device, subject to a stated small-cylinder exception. As a practical recommendation, ask an appropriately qualified professional to examine the actual installation and explain any uncertain exception, modification or missing record. Do not treat a functioning cooker as proof that every installation condition is satisfied. Keep any recommended corrective work visible in the purchase or preparation file and resolve the safety concern before relying on the system during navigation. No complete equipment inventory for every numbered recreational class is asserted; older lettered statutory classifications need correct authority matching. The type 5 leaflet is dated 18 December 2024 and does not replace the applicable legislation or establish every other class's requirement. For these, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Broker tip: Identify the engine, hull layout and installed fire system before checking extinguisher requirements. Have an uncertain substitute or gas arrangement assessed by a competent professional, and obtain separate quotations for any required work. Our guide on whether you need a boat survey in Portugal covers a related point.
Model yacht beside a calculator for boat tax costs.
Open outboard fire equipment
The equipment annex requires a one-kilogram dry-powder extinguisher for open or partly open craft with an outboard motor, excluding the stated personal-watercraft case. (Portaria 1464/2002, published 14 November 2002; shown in force and retained by current code Article 62.)
Source: Diário da República – Official equipment rules; older lettered clasThe annex requires a two-kilogram dry-powder extinguisher by the engine compartment where an inboard engine is the main propulsion and no fixed automatic extinguishing system exists. (Portaria 1464/2002, published 14 November 2002; shown in force and retained by current code Article 62.)
Source: Diário da República – Official equipment rules; older lettered clasThe annex permits equivalent substitutes for powder extinguishers but prohibits carbon-dioxide and halon extinguishers. (Portaria 1464/2002, published 14 November 2002; shown in force and retained by current code Article 62.)
Source: Diário da República – Official equipment rules; older lettered clasThe annex requires gas-cylinder arrangements outside habitable spaces with external ventilation and an installation shut-off device, subject to its stated small-cylinder exception. (Portaria 1464/2002, published 14 November 2002; shown in force and retained by current code Article 62.)
Source: Diário da República – Official equipment rules; older lettered clasSection 4
Article 21 excludes safety-equipment data from the boat booklet. Its absence there therefore should not be read as an exemption from equipment requirements. Article 25 describes periodic inspection as checking safety conditions and minimum mandatory equipment. As a practical recommendation, review the applicable inspection evidence alongside the real inventory rather than relying on the booklet alone. Keep a missing item or condition question distinct from the registration particulars, and ask the authority how the issue affects the boat's intended use.
Article 22 identifies station licensing, inspection and inflatable-liferaft inspection evidence where required according to the craft's classification. As a practical recommendation, prepare the document checklist for the actual boat and ask about any uncertain record before handover or departure. Match the evidence to the installed equipment where relevant and preserve the applicable service information. This guide does not treat one type 5 leaflet as the document rule for every class, nor does it invent a nationwide equipment-inspection charge or guarantee the outcome of an official check.
Article 30 requires navigation, anchoring and beaching to respect official charts, local AMN notices and navigation warnings and aids. As a practical recommendation, review the relevant current information for the intended passage and brief the people aboard on the equipment and agreed emergency arrangements. A complete-looking inventory is part of preparation, not a reason to ignore a local restriction or an unresolved system fault. Obtain the applicable authority information and technical help where the boat's record, equipment or intended route leaves a question unanswered.
Broker tip: Review the applicable inspection and radio records separately from the booklet. Before the passage, check current official navigation information, locate the equipment and resolve any missing record or technical concern with the appropriate authority or professional. A related question is answered in our guide on how much a berth costs in Portugal.
Boat sale contract with a legal stamp.
Booklet equipment exclusion
Practical support
Peter Mattey is a yacht broker at European Yacht Brokers with a BA in Law. He is not a Portuguese lawyer: for Portuguese law and tax we refer you to a locally qualified adviser. What we can do is help you plan the transaction, put the right questions to the other side and spot gaps in the paperwork before you commit.
If you are buying or selling a boat in Portugal, tell us about the boat and the area through the enquiry form on this page and a broker will reply. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
The handover of a boat at the dock.
Your questions
No: the equipment order ties requirements to the navigation area determining the craft's classification. The type 5 examples in this guide are scoped to the maritime authority's leaflet and do not establish a complete offshore inventory. Check the actual boat record and intended use, and ask the authority about an older category, commercial operation or proposed exception before relying on a shortened list. (Diário da República)
It requires enough for everyone aboard, with suitable lifejackets for children. As a practical recommendation, check the actual passengers and equipment during preparation or handover, then obtain competent advice on an item whose suitability or condition is uncertain. A list in an advertisement should not be treated as proof that the supplied lifejackets fit the present people or remain in usable condition. (Autoridade Marítima Nacional)
It requires an access ladder where the distance from the water to the quarter or transom edge exceeds 50 centimetres. Check the actual boat arrangement rather than inferring compliance from a model description. As a practical recommendation, locate and review the equipment during handover and ask for competent advice if its condition, access or suitability is uncertain before relying on it during use. (Autoridade Marítima Nacional)
No unrestricted substitution is established: the equipment annex permits equivalent substitutes but prohibits carbon-dioxide and halon extinguishers. Confirm an uncertain substitute with a competent professional against the actual boat's applicable requirement. The specified powder provision also depends on the hull, propulsion and installed fire system, so do not select equipment solely from a generic shopping list or an old advertisement photograph. (Diário da República)
No: Article 21 excludes safety-equipment data from the booklet. Review the real inventory, applicable equipment rules and relevant inspection evidence separately. Article 22 also identifies station licensing and inflatable-liferaft inspection evidence where required by classification. As a practical recommendation, prepare a document checklist for the actual craft and resolve a missing item or record with the authority or competent professional before departure. (Diário da República)
This guide only includes facts checked against official sources. For anything it does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information, and ask a locally qualified adviser to confirm the position for your own boat.
Ready when you are
RIVA SUPER OPERA 85 About SPYRO Introducing the 25.9-meter motor yacht SPYRO, a stunning Riva 85 Opera crafted in Italy by the prestigious Riva shipyard.
Check it yourself
Current recreational boating regime: registration, navigation classifications, certification, insurance and command qualifications.
Official equipment rules; older lettered classifications require careful matching to the current boat classification.
Type 5 safety equipment with explicit exceptions; commercial-use additions identified separately.
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