The General Directorate of the Maritime Authority (DGAM) is a public service, integrated into the Ministry of National Defense, endowed with administrative autonomy, and is legally responsible for directing, coordinating and controlling the activities carried out by its bodies and services within the framework of activities defined in article 6 of Decree-Law nº 43/2002, of March 2, to be developed within the scope of the National Maritime Authority and in the spaces under its jurisdiction. It is up to the DGAM, in particular, to support, in technical, legal, logistical and financial terms, the action of the Port Captaincies, as their local bodies, given that they reside, in functional terms, in the exercise of the Maritime Authority of the Portuguese State.
The Directorate of Lighthouses, is the national technical direction for maritime signaling and positioning, is a founding member of IALA (International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Ligthouse Authorities), and is a body of the General Directorate of the Maritime Authority, which has the following skills:

Issue technical opinions on any maritime signaling projects or other projects with implications for maritime signaling easement areas;
Support training and ensure the technical-professional guidance of lighthouse keepers;
Inspect the technical compliance, operation and maintenance of navigation aids;
Install, operate and maintain navigation aids for maritime signaling (with the exception of port);
Control and monitor the lighthouses at the entrance to the port of Lisbon;
Propose superiorly the creation, deletion or modification of navigation aids;
Ensure uniformity of navigation aids, in accordance with international recommendations, etc