Is there a legal swimming zone on Lebanese beaches?

We have found no published Lebanese text that fixes a national per-beach swimming zone with buoys and a speed limit. Individual resorts and municipalities may mark their own water; that is a local arrangement, not a national rule.

Who do I call about a dangerous boat near swimmers?

For an emergency, Civil Defence 125 or Red Cross 140. For enforcement, the Internal Security Forces on 112 and the port or maritime authority for that stretch of coast. You can also file a report with us so the case is documented with its sources.

Guide

Sea safety in Lebanon

Lebanon has roughly 220 km of coast, heavy summer swimming, and no published national scheme that separates swimmers from powered craft beach by beach. This page sets out what exists, what does not, and what to do.

What is actually in force today

Lebanon applies the international collision regulations at sea, which require a proper lookout and a safe speed near hazards — people in the water are a hazard. Maritime property and the public shore are governed by Decree 4810/1966. What is missing is a published, enforceable, per-beach separation between swimming water and powered craft.

Where the risk concentrates

Risk concentrates where swimming water and craft traffic overlap without any marked boundary: rocky public shores with no lifeguard, beaches next to a launch ramp or marina exit, and headlands where craft cut close to shore. Our incident archive records only cases with a cited source; it is not a complete national record.

If something happens in the water

Call for help first: Civil Defence 125, Red Cross 140, Internal Security Forces 112. Do not enter the water after a casualty unless you are trained and equipped. Note the time, the place and any craft description; photographs and video help later, but never at the cost of a rescue.

Sources

Safe speed and lookout — COLREGs Rules 5 and 6

The international collision regulations require a proper lookout at all times and a safe speed for the visibility, traffic and proximity of navigational hazards — which includes people in the water.

IMO — Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG)

Comparative practice — 300 m shore band at 5 knots (France)

French coastal rules cap all craft at 5 knots inside the 300 m shore band. The campaign uses the same figure as a reference point for Lebanon; it is comparative practice, not Lebanese law.

Légifrance — Code des transports, navigation dans la bande littorale des 300 mètres

Lebanese baseline — Decree 4810/1966

The shore and the sea up to the highest winter wave line are public maritime domain. Public access and swimming are the baseline right any corridor must protect.

Decree 4810/1966 — Lebanese public maritime domain

Questions

Is there a legal swimming zone on Lebanese beaches?: We have found no published Lebanese text that fixes a national per-beach swimming zone with buoys and a speed limit. Individual resorts and municipalities may mark their own water; that is a local arrangement, not a national rule.
Who do I call about a dangerous boat near swimmers?: For an emergency, Civil Defence 125 or Red Cross 140. For enforcement, the Internal Security Forces on 112 and the port or maritime authority for that stretch of coast. You can also file a report with us so the case is documented with its sources.

Local town guides

Beirut (Raouché / Pigeon Rocks)Jounieh Batroun Jbeil (Byblos)Tripoli Tyre (Sour)Saida (Sidon)Damour

See every coastal town · Rules and sources · Report an incident