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ALBANIA – 0CC LEGACY INFORMATION 2009

This information has been contributed by and is intended for use by competent amateur yachtsmen as general guidance solely to supplement research of their cruising plans.It has not been checked or verified by the OCC. The Information may be inaccurate or out of date and is NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION.

Flying Fish articles
Useful Website:Seacrest
Telephone country code 355
Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albania
Visa requirements None
Entry requirements It is recommended that you employ an agent:
Dures recommended Agent: Capt Llambi Papa Tel + 355 52 37244, Mob +355 69 2063 544.
Vlore Agent: Vladimir Tel: 355 6923 75078
Orikum Marina Manager: Luan Tel mob +355 6840 93801 or +39(0) 56 5252040.
Saranda: Mob + 355 692 566 576 and E Mail agimzholi@yahoo.com. Passports and Ships registration. More yachts are visiting Albania. Agim had dealt with 40 to 50 this year. Facilities are almost non existent but progress is being made and the ‘Agents’ will do there very best to ensure that your needs are satisfied It appears that once you have booked in, you can anchor or visit minor harbours within reason. Albanians are not allowed to have pleasure boats at present so there is little local expertise or knowledge.
Transit requirements (departing one port, entering another) All handled by agent
Search and rescue Emergency and health services Importing spares The agent will assist
Useful languages English and Italian
Other comments Albania is still a very poor country and there is much Italian influence.The interior in fascinating with a mixture of communism, WW2 occupation, and ancient history. The valleys are wide and fertile, the rate of growth in the towns and cities impressive.. Although a Muslim state, many other religions are accepted and none appear to be over dominant.
In all a very interesting country and well worth a visit en route to the Adriatic.
Euros are the hard currency acceptable to most. Local currency the Lek is available at most cash points but not all. About 150 Lek to the Pound. The agemt will arrange transport and advise on places of interest. The Brandt travel guide is good. From Saranda a visit to the Roman remains at the Butrint World heritage site is a must. Cruising information (specific to this cruising area) Last updated by George Curtis on 20 April 2010. Recommended cruising guides Trevor Thompson’s Adriatic Pilot 4th Edition and Admiralty Charts, all of which gave a rather negative impression of the country and sea board. The ‘noonsite’ web site however gave several encouraging reports of recent visits and recommended ‘Agents’ in each harbour.
There is a new publication in Italian available from the Saranda Agent and possibly others called 777 Albanian Harbours. This is a similar name to a Cruising Guide for Croatia and it is suspected by the same author.
Some of the ports of entry The 3 main ports of call are Dures, Vlore and Sarandas all about 50 miles apart.
Harbours to leave your yacht for 1 month or more None, but several Italian boats were in Orikum Marina for prolonged periods
Weather information We use Navtext. Split, Corfu and Rome are in range. Mediterranean forecasts seem to be notoriously unreliable. For example in Gouvia Marina the office published at 1100 a Force 10 imminent and by 1200 their forecast was Force 4-5. Both were wrong.
Tidal information Cruising permits and restrictions It appears that once you have booked in, you can anchor or visit minor harbours within reason.
Radio and communications The ports all answer Ch 16 in good English
General advice, places to go, warnings Safety and security We were quite happy to leave the boat unattended in harbour although we had to move a few yards in both Dures and Saranada commercial quays because of shipping. When we were away the Agent saw it as his responsibility to look after the boat.
With thanks to Roland Notley, Yacht Man ‘O War, for providing this report

Dures – 41°18.30'N, 19°27.50'E [Approximate]
Dures approach is very well marked. We had made contact by telephone with a recommended Agent: Capt Llambi Papa Tel + 355 52 37244, Mob +355 69 2063 544. A week before arrival and again on our passage south. He spoke good English, prefers to be contacted by text and was there to meet us on arrival in the commercial port of Dures. He dealt with everything, Ships papers, dinner, car and currency, indeed nothing was too much trouble. The Harbour is well sheltered, we were found a suitable berth alongside a huge rubber fender. When I complained to him about the wash from high speed ferry, Papa contacted the ferry captain, whom he knew, and the problem was not repeated! A car was arranged to take us to the old capital Krugi and to the modern capital Tirana. Both well worth a visit. Papa appeared at our planned departure time with the duty port officer, our papers were given back to us, passage advice to Vlore was discussed, he advised that if we wished to go to the new marina S of Vlore port, there was no need to contact Vlore Port authority, but if we had any problems we were to telephone him and he would fix. His fee which included berthing charges was 60 Euro and the car for the day 100 Euro. Dinner ashore about 15 Euro a head. In all an enjoyable visit.
See Pictures: Dures Approach looking NEm Yacht Berth, Dures

Saranda – 39°51.50'N, 20°02.00'E [Approximate]
With thanks to Roland Notley, Yacht Man ‘O War, for providing this report As Saranda was to be our next port of call and we contacted ‘Agim’ who was our recommended agent. Mob + 355 692 566 576 and E Mail agimzholi@yahoo.com. On our arrival at Saranda Agim had arranged a suitable berth for us to approach under sail, alongside a ferry. Water, electricity and lavatories available in the ferry terminal. An engineer arrived within the hour and the engine was fixed for a modest charge. Agim arranged everything and the agent system is clearly good value for money in Albania. He told us that a new pilot book had been produced this year called ‘777 Albanian Harbours’ presumably an off -shoot of the Croatian pilot with a similar name. He had copies but at present they are only published in Italian. Saranda is a small commercial harbour mainly for ferries from Corfu. Protection is good except from the south and yachts are berthed in the secure ferry compound. A red buoy marking shallows on the approach to the harbour. I have a poor copy of a Saranda and Palermos Chart if needed. There are several places to visit by car with the Butrint National park with well preserved Roman ruins -a must-, as well as the Blue Eye Springs and the town of Gjirokastria some miles inland. Agim provided a car for the day as well as getting our laundry done. In all a very pleasant place to visit. Others had managed to anchor off Butrint and visit by dinghy but settled weather and clearance into Albanian waters first is advisable as the Greek authorities appear to be rather more vigilant.
Images: Saranda Approach Looking N, Saranda Yacht Berth

Vlore - Orikum – 40°26.40'N, 19°26.50'E [Approximate]
With thanks to Roland Notley, Yacht Man ‘O War, for providing this report We decided to make for the new Marina at the head of Vlore bay our only problem was that there were no charts or details of the so called marina other than a telephone number which Papa had given us. Marina Manager: Luan Tel mob +355 6840 93801 or +39(0) 56 5252040. His wife speaks some English. With this information we set off. Winds were not kind and a night approach looked likely. Luan assured us that we would find the marina 4 miles SE of Vlore at the head of the bay and that he would stand on the breakwater with a torch! With his help and some expensive telephone calls we found our way in just before midnight. The Orikum Marina has a single pontoon with mooring lines, water electricity and showers and at present it is far from finished. Next day we witnessed a high powered meeting on an adjacent motor boat and found out that Italian money with EU help was about to become available. We also learnt that Albanians were at present not allowed to own a pleasure boat, but that this rule was due to change in 2009. The plans are for a 650 boat marina but at present there was room for about 20 boats of which only a few were privately owned mostly by Italians. The Village is about 15 minutes walk, with shops, cash point and places to eat. An attractive bay with considerable possibilities for the future. There were no marina charges and virtually no formalities. Complete security and friendly manager. Entrance light FG at 40.20.54N 19.28.29 E. Sketch Map attached. Vlores Agent (not used by us) Vladimir +355 6923 75078. Commercial harbour looks to be exposed from S and W.
Images:
Orikum Entrance, FG and Fl R looking SW, Orikum looking E towards entrance, Orikum Marina looking S, Plan of Orikum Harbour