Salvador de Bahia - Clearance
See Brazil Formalities for full details on clearing into and out of Brazil.
Using SAC Nautico for Clearance (quickest and simplest option):
Salvador is currently the easiest place to clear into/out of Brazil, with the development of SAC Náutico, a new Citizens service for local boats as well as foreign recreational craft. At SAC Náutico (like a one-stop-shop), entry into and exit from the country can be carried out using electronic forms from the Federal Police, Federal Revenue and Port Authority, cutting the clearance time by hours (expect it to take approx. 3 hours). Currently this is only available in Salvador.
SAC Náutico, located at Doca 1, in Comércio.
Open 08:00 until 17:00, Monday to Friday.
Maritime agent, Ramon Filho is responsible for customer service. Ramon and all his staff are English speaking and very friendly. Cruisers recommend the facility and the service.
https://sacnautico.salvador.ba.gov.br/
sacnautico@salvador.ba.gov.br
Located next to the tourist ferry port, close to Bahia Marina [12° 58′ 17 S / 38° 30′ 53 W] and near to the Porto Salvador Marina, all skippers need to bring are the crew passports and the boat’s documents. All crew should be present for the Federal Police procedures. No fees are charged.
SAC Nautico should be visited when wanting to clear out of Salvador.
Notes:
- If you are unable to stay in a marina here, a safer option for clearance is to anchor at the NW tip of Itaparica, across the Bay from Salvador. There appears to be no enforcement by the authorities for the requirement to check-in immediately on arriving in Salvador. Once established at Itaparica it is an easy ferry trip across to Salvador to complete entry formalities.
- If you arrive at the weekend, SAC is closed. In this case you will need to follow the below procedure:
Visiting the Authorities (if arriving at a weekend):
All the authorities are located less than 100m from Terminal Nautico and 3km away from Marina Bahia.
For international clearance, you need to go to these different offices in this order as the next step requires documents from the previous:
- Immigration, Policia Federal, on Ave. de Franca, inside a non-descriptive port authority building. Ask to be directed to the right place. The building faces the Brazilian Navy Marines barracks. two to three kms from the Marina. Both skipper and crew have to check in.The Policia Federal office hours are 09:00-12:00, 14:00-17:00 (Mon-Fri). 09:00-12:00 (Sat). Checking in with the Policia Federal is mandatory here.
- Customs, Receita Federal, in the commercial port, on Ave. de Franca, 300m to the left of Terminal Nautico when exiting the premises. Some English is spoken. Everything is done on a computer under the guidance from officials there (the computer service is available in English). The only skipper has to check the boat in. The boat will be temporarily imported on the basis of the skipper’s length of stay as stamped in the passport. If the policia federal from step 1 gives you 90 days then the boat will also get 90 days.
- Capitania do Portos, Marina Do Brazil, in the big white building 300m to the right of the TN gates. You will have to clear at the gate. Inside the building are many different counters. Go to “F” “1” counter, on the very right after entering. No English is spoken but people are reported to be quite helpful.
Be sure to wear long trousers, no caps or hats inside the military area, or you might be refused service.
The staff at both marinas are most helpful and will advise about formalities, as will Marcelo Brocchini of MB yacht services.
For domestic clearance, you only have to visit the Receita Federal and the Capitania.
Clearing Out
If leaving Brazil, visit all the offices in reverse order. If leaving Salvador for somewhere else in Brazil only a visit to the Capitania do Portos is required.
Last updated: February 2024
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Related to following destinations: Brazil, Eastern coast (north of Rio de Janeiro), Salvador de Bahia
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In January 2019 we stayed at SOCICAM for a few days. When we arrived there was someone to help us mooring which was quite convenient after 2 weeks at sea! As Salvador was our port of entry in Brazil, we had to do all the formalities here. With help of Dominique we were finished within 3 hours! We loved our stay here and felt immediately welcome in Brazil. Dominique was there to answer all our questions (which were a lot!) and gave us a lot of inside information about good restaurants etc. Thank you Dominique for making us feel welcome in Brazil. We would recommend everyone to stay in this marina when in Salvador. The only minor downside was that it could be little bit choppy with all the boats leaving / entering from the terminal. The inner side of the pontoon (closest to the city) is the best side to be moored we figured.
We stayed at Socicam – Terminal Nautico for nine days in July 2018. Harbourmaster Dominique was most helpful: he explained where we could get groceries (Perini on Vasco da Gama Avenue has a great selection, upmarket), where it was save to walk (basically where there are other people around) and what we should be aware of (no walking to and from the elevator after dark). When we needed to have our mast taken off, he was instrumental in getting everything organised, so we could get a crane to the marina and a welder to get the repairs done in the parking area of the marina. Be sure to agree to everything (work and price) with the repairmen beforehand.
As we gone through immigration in Fernando de Noronha, we only had to visit the Receita Federal (300m to the left of Terminal Nautico when exiting the premises), where we were assisted by a young woman who spoke some English and guided us through a computer program. Next up was the Capitania, 300m to the right of the TN gates. The “Capitania” building is one of many buildings on the Navy premises and inside it are many different counters. Go to “F” “1” counter, on the very right after entering.
A local sim-card can be bought (and registered with your passport) at the TIM shop inside “Shopping Lapa”, a large shopping center in the “Lapa” area. We found it safe to walk there from the elevator (towards the right upon exiting the elevator, along a street lined with shops and street vendors). The area is well worth visiting to get a flair of city life outside the renovated old town.
Posted on behalf of Dan Stroud
As per usual no response to VHF call in. Went to Termino Náutico (TN) just by the ferry port and close to the old quarter of the city.
The guy that runs it, Dominique, is very helpful, speaks English, French and Portuguese. There’s also a guy called Marcelo who I think would be very helpful for repairs etc.
The floating pontoon is old and noisy but perfectly adequate. Stern to the mooring.
The police office is tricky to find and I’m sorry to say I forgot the exact location but I left details with Dominique at TN.
Customs: no English is spoken but they are happy to use google translate.
Dos capitanía: no English is spoken but helpful and friendly.
I left my boat in TN Salvador and flew to Argentina. I had to visit the Customs and dos Capitanía to leave the boat, and then Customs again upon my return.
Fairly straightforward, if convoluted!
Most people seem to think that Salvador is dodgy, but I disagree. It’s a busy hot and intense city, but keep eyes open and all is fine.
Cost at TN was about 13 euros per night. there’s a small Walmart near the hotel Sheraton.
On the way back from Itaparica we did not want to go to the bustling places in Salvador. A friend told us to go to Itapagipe peninsular to the marina Angra dos Veleiros.
It is a sailor-owned place with visitors spaces. Located at S12 deg 54,689 ´/ W 038deg 29,564´.
It is located on Av. Largo da Ribeira – Ribeira, Salvador – BA, 40420-260, Brazil, Tel: +55 71 3316-5626
They have some 35 slips and a workshop also that visitors can use. Nearby are two ship chandlers and tools and equipment alley where you can get almost everything. There is also a bom pressio (Walmart) nearby, so ideal to stock up the boat for a longer journey.
The entrance to the marina is easy for catamarans yet tides to have to be watched for keelboats as there are shallow depths near the entrance. The marina is exposed to waves and NE winds stronger than 20 knots. We stayed for five days and got everything done that we needed to take care of.
A visitors slip with 110V/220V shore power and free water costs BRL 1,50 per foot per day. There is a restaurant that opens for lunch. The internet works well. All in all a nice quiet place to be.
SY Coral Trekker
We stayed at Pier Salvador for more than two months. While the price for the marina is quite reasonable, the service we received was not quite as good as we had hoped. Several repairs had to be done and almost none were performed to our satisfaction.
Ok, Brazil is not Europa, but nevertheless, you’d expect a craftsman to at least admit that they don’t have any experience. At one time I just had to ask the carpenter to leave the boat and it took me three days of work to repair the damage he had done.
The more frustrating is, that when we came back from our home vacation in Germany we had to find a big dent in the rigging screw cover and also a line missing. We had secured our boat the boat next to us and they obviously left with our line and in the process damage our boat.
Nobody in the marina claimed to have seen anything. No help or reimbursement for the damage and loss. So be careful leaving your boat at this marina unattended!
I am in process of buying a boat under a foreign flag while it stays in Brazil and would like to reflect on my experience so far.
The boat arrived from Cape Town via St.Helena to Salvador and anchored in the Bahia Marina. The people are very helpful. Julia, one of the receptionists, even speaks French, Portugese and English.
If you want to leave the boat in Brazil and leave the country, even for a short trip, you can not stay at Bahia Marina. In Salvador there are only three marinas licensed to keep foreign boats when the owner does not stay in Brazil. These are Terminal Nautico, Pier Marina and Aratu Iate Clube. I neither wanted to leave my future boat in either Terminal Nautico nor Pier. Aratu is a good place to leave the boat.
The owner had to fill in a form, confirm it with the Aratu I.C. and the capitania dos portos. Then with this we went to the Receite (Customs) to get an extension of the existing 90 day permit for as long as we wanted (within a two year period) without being in the country.
The AIC asks for a local person to take care of the boat. I had the pleasure of being introduced to the manufacturer’s representative in SSA that made things much easier.
The costs at AIC are 1 BRL per foot per day.
After returning to Brazil I will have 90 days to stay from my date of entry, for me and the boat.
AIC is a tangential drive around SSA to the airport. So convenient if leaving or arriving in the country. My suggestion if you want to leave Brazil while you boat stays in Brazil, move staight to Aratu. Make sure you arrive during daylight. The channel is narrow and the yacht club is not well marked on the chart plotter. Furthermore there are some small marinas that are not charted at all that can be quite confusing at night.
Marina Pier Salvador ia a helpful place. They repair my Volvo MD50 motor. It was a really dificult reparation. The moorings and the restaurant are in good conditions. M congratulations Sandoval.
Bahia Marina is, as stated, very helpful and with good facilities. However as of March 2016 it has no laundry, and no swimming-pool (and seemingly never has had one). It currently has rather few spaces for visitors being nearly full of very large motor-yachts.