On August 25, 2026, the General Maritime Directorate (Drejtoria e Pergjithshme Detare, DPD) convened its directorates and port captaincies to brief them on the amendments adopted to the Albanian Maritime Code by Law no. 84/2026. The law broadens the Code (originally Law no. 9251/2004) to establish a Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Information System (VTMIS), a National Maritime Single Window, and explicit flag, port, and coastal state functions, aligning Albanian maritime legislation with IMO standards and the EU rules it must transpose as an accession candidate.
The information session is the first official walk-through of the amended articles. The DPD release confirms the changes are in force and that the Directorate must now draft the implementing sub-legal acts within the legal deadline the law fixes.
What does Law 84/2026 change in the Albanian Maritime Code?
The amendment reorganizes six core areas of the Code. It strengthens the role of the Maritime Administration (DPD) as the competent national authority for maritime safety and security. It codifies the functions of the flag state, the port state, and the coastal state, giving Albania the full triad of maritime regulatory roles under one legal basis.
It establishes the legal basis for VTMIS and the National Maritime Single Window (Dritarja e Vetme Kombetare Detare), the integrated reporting portal for ship arrivals, departures, and movements in Albanian waters. It reinforces port security and the application of ISPS Code requirements at Albanian ports. It frames port state control, ship certification, and safe minimum crewing rules. Finally, it sets the framework for delegating and overseeing technical functions to recognized organizations, the classification societies that handle Albanian-flag vessel certification.
Who must comply, and which ports are affected?
The amendments bind every actor operating ships in Albanian waters or calling at an Albanian port. That includes Albanian-flagged shipowners on the RSH (Albanian Ship Register), port authorities and operators at Durres, Vlore, Sarande, and Shengjin, Adriatic ferry and shipping lines running routes into Albanian ports, and the recognized organizations that certify the Albanian-flag fleet.
For Adriatic ferry operators running Durres to Trieste or Ancona services, the National Maritime Single Window consolidates the customs, border-police, and port-formality reporting that previously sat across separate windows. Ship agents will submit vessel, cargo, crew, and security data through the single window before arrival and departure, replacing the fragmented notifications each authority used to collect on its own form.
What do the VTMIS and National Maritime Single Window require?
VTMIS requires real-time reporting of ship movements, positions, and traffic data in Albanian waters, transposing EU Directive 2002/59/EC. The National Maritime Single Window transposes Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 and becomes the single, mandatory entry point for the information ships must report when arriving in or departing from an Albanian port. Both systems close a gap the European Commission flagged in its 2024 Albania Report and the National Transport Strategy and Action Plan 2030, which listed the single-window governance framework as still missing and required to close EU accession Chapter 14 (Transport), whose closure phase opened on May 26, 2026.
| Obligation | Before Law 84/2026 | Under Law 84/2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Ship movement reporting | Partial, fragmented across authorities | VTMIS real-time monitoring in Albanian waters |
| Port arrival and departure formalities | Separate customs, border, and port windows | National Maritime Single Window, one entry point |
| Flag, port, coastal state functions | Implicit, scattered across the Code | Explicitly codified, DPD as competent authority |
| ISPS port security | Referenced, uneven enforcement | Reinforced ISPS Code application at all ports |
| Sub-legal acts | Gap in technical specifications | DPD must draft implementing acts within the legal deadline |
What must operators and the DPD do next, and by when?
The DPD must prepare the implementing sub-legal acts, decisions of the Council of Ministers and ministerial orders, within the legal deadline Law 84/2026 sets. Those acts will fix the technical specifications, reporting formats, and procedural templates that VTMIS, the single window, and the ISPS, certification, and crewing rules require. Until they land, operators should map their current reporting flows against the six amended areas and identify which submissions the single window will absorb.
Shipowners and agents should confirm their vessels' certification status under the reinforced flag-state regime, verify ISPS compliance at the ports they call, and prepare their systems to push movement and formalities data to VTMIS and the single window. Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces the DPD's implementing acts the moment they publish.
Take advantage of this real-time watch
Operators should now verify whether their vessels and port calls fall under the amended Code, brief compliance and agency teams on the VTMIS and single-window reporting shift, and track the DPD's sub-legal acts for the binding technical deadlines. Obsidian follows each Albanian maritime instrument through the Fletorja Zyrtare as it enters the Official Gazette.
