Mooring Information
Mooring Rates For The 2026 Season
Residents: $125.00 for residents of Portland and South Portland.
Non Residents: $400.00 for all non-residents.
Renewal deadline is March 15 each year. All renewals beginning March 16 will be assessed a higher fee.
The Harbormaster’s Office does not rent transient moorings. All mooring permits issued are for the entire boating season. All moorings in Portland Harbor and its jurisdictions must be set and numbered by the Harbor Master, including tackle that may have been purchased with the sale of a vessel. Mooring permits are not transferable. Please only submit one application. Once you have a mooring, you may apply for another.
A word about our mooring fields: A shorter wait list does not necessarily reflect a shorter wait. Reasons for a shorter wait list include: lack of public access (parking, dinghy storage, island communities, club or private waterfront) and turnover, physical size of mooring field, and other considerations. For locations of mooring fields, please see the charts below. (Charts to be added shortly)
Please contact our office if you need help completing the permit application.
The Office of the Harbor Master and Board of Harbor Commissioners will not sell, rent or share your personal information.
Helpful reminder: If you are thinking of purchasing a new boat and putting it on your mooring contact us. Please remember, moorings are issued to specific boats and the Portland Harbor Master’s Office must approve a new boat to be on a mooring. This is so we can know both who the boat is as well as if the mooring location and gear are suitable. Speak to us before putting a new boat on the mooring, as the new vessel is NOT be allowed on your mooring until the research has been completed to ensure it will fit in the mooring field and that you have the proper mooring gear to hold it.
EelGrass & Conservation Moorings
The Portland Harbor has implemented a conservation mooring policy to protect the eelgrass beds as follows:
Beginning in the 2021 boating season, any new mooring to be installed in an eelgrass bed must be a conservation mooring.
Beginning with the 2022 mooring season, all moorings currently in eelgrass will need to be converted or removed.
Portland Harbor Master Definition of a Conservation Mooring
To prevent and mitigate damage to essential marine habitat caused by mooring bottom tackle, the Portland Harbor Master requires that all moorings in designated eelgrass conservation areas use approved conservation tackle. Mooring tackle appropriate for Portland Harbor shall be defined and approved by the Portland Harbor Master.
The Harbor Master for Portland Harbor defines an approved conservation mooring as any mooring that does not use bottom chain, heavy line, or other component or system that scours the bottom and that is, at the same time, appropriate for the vessel to withstand adverse mooring field conditions. Further, no mooring system may create an entanglement hazard at any tidal stage.
All non-approved moorings must be removed from eelgrass areas. No non-approved moorings may be installed in eelgrass areas. All new moorings in eelgrass conservation areas must be installed and inspected by an approved mooring inspector and documented, with current coordinates, in the mooring holder’s Online Mooring account. Moorings found in eelgrass conservation areas that are not so documented will be removed by order of the Harbor Master at the last known mooring owner’s expense, to include the cost of hauling and storage, and the mooring permit will be revoked. Only certain mooring fields will be open to new conservation moorings.
The image below shows the extent of eelgrass conservation zones (outlined in red) in lower Casco Bay.
