The increase of the available mooring surface in the yacht club of sa Rápita

The executive board of IB Ports gave the authorization yesterday for the remodeling of a quay in the yacht club of sa Rápita (municipality of Campos), which will increase the available mooring surface. It also gave green light to the start the process of granting the administrative concession, through public tender, of the premises destined to bar-café-restaurant in the port of Cala Ratjada (Capdepera).

The works in sa Rápita, which will be "executed and paid for entirely by the club", consist of the demolition of a quay of 48 meters and a construction of a new one of 35 meters, along which berths of 4 to 6 meters of length will be substituted by berths of 10 to 12 meters respectively, as the new channels for manouvering between the quays "allow for this". Besides, the navigable channel between the new quay and the harbour wall "will permit in the latter a modification of the length of the first 15 berths from 8 to 10 meters".

With an aim to add various transit berths on the waiting quay, the executive board of the Ports IB informed about an addition of 10 new berths, which are expected to have an average occupation of 70% in June and September, and 90% in July and August.

After the remodeling of the quay the total mooring surface "will increase to more than 580 m2, a 4,40% more than reflected in the act of recognition". 

These works and the addition of 10 berths in the waiting quay "mean an increase of attributable fees of 32.650 euros plus VAT for the concession holder".

The complete report in Diario de Mallorca.

The long overdue reform of the nautical qualifications

On the threshold of the reform of the nautical qualifications, which is an indispensable step for the future of the recreational yachting in Spain, we - as the defendants of the interests of the sector, have the obligation to look ahead and continue on the path we set out on in 2010.

Then, becoming aware that the Spanish nautical sector  could not carry on ignoring the development in the sector elsewhere in Europe and in the world, at ANEN we started the battle with the Administration to plan and defend the necessary and inevitable reform of the nautical qualifications.

With an out-dated and inadequate normative that didn´t correspond  with the reality of our enterprises  or the aficionados, neither national nor international, we were not navigating on the right course.

After years of work and negotiating with various representatives of the Administration, we have managed to initiate a law change that will finally allow us to harmonize our nautical qualifications, which will also increase our competitiveness and number of devotees  - objectives we all within the sector agree upon.

The Balearic nautical sector supports the GDS Unimarina of the Majorcan company Portbooker

The main representatives of the Balearic nautical sector have expressed their unanimous support for the Unimarina project, a GDS (Global Distribution System) of the ports and marinas jointly developed by Travelport and the Majorcan company Portbooker. According to the persons in charge, the platform "represents the future" in the management of the worldwide marine installations, by concentrating all online operations related to their services, and it confirms the leading role of the Balearic Islands in the field of technological innovation in the tourism sector.

The president of the Balearic Port Authority (APB), Alberto Pons, the director of the Ports of the Balearic Islands (Ports IB), David Gómez, the director of APB, Juan Carlos Plaza, and the president of the Association of the Marinas and Nautical Installations of the Balearic Islands (ANADE), Cristina Mari, had a meeting today with the executive members of the expert committee of Unimarina, the instigators of the project, who have come to Palma to finalize the details of the official presentation of this platform of global distribution of nautical services, which will take place during the next edition of the Palma Boat Show.

The president of the Balearic Port Authority, Alberto Pons, highlighted "the huge potential for technological development that exists on the islands of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza, applied to the Balearic nautical sector" and expressed his conviction that "the new system for the marina reservations outlined by Unimarina will be the standard in the near future". For Pons, the fact that a Majorcan company is innovating in this area is extremely important, as the project "inevitably sets the pace within the nautical industry, as today everything is managed through internet".

The APB offers around 40 commercial premises for rent in the ports

The Balearic port Authority (APB) is promoting the rental of around 40 properties in its possession in the ports of the islands with the intention to make the unused spaces profitable and at the same time to encourage the start up of new entrepreneurial projects in attractive areas. These premises could be used as shops, cafés, restaurants, offices or company headquarters and the prices per square meter vary depending on the location and to what kind of use the property will be destined.

The associations and companies interested in the premises can contact the commercial agents of the Port Authority of the Balearics through email fleal@portsdebalears.com

In the Port of Palma, the largest selection is available in the area along Moll Vell. After moving to their new headquarters, the APB has relocated their staff leaving various premises on the Moll Vell empty, ready to house new projects.

In the Port of Alcudia there is a coffee shop and various commercial premises available in the Harbour Terminal, while in Ibiza, Mahon and La Savina various properties are aslo available for rent.

Report by Gaceta Náutica.

Letter from the president - December 2013

It´s a long time since we have received so many good news in such a short time in the nautical sector as during this autumn. Only a few days ago the Council of Ministers approved the Draft of Law of Maritime Navigation, which will update our legal regulations so that for the first time ever the recreational yachting will get a specific treatment in the legislation. It is a truly historical milestone. One of the other controversial points of the spanish nautical sector, the nautical qualifications, is also close to being adapted to the european actuality. We will discuss these and some other issues in this letter.

As I mentioned, we are finally close to having a more rational legal framework, adapted to international agreements, and which grants our activity, the recreational yachting, a specific treatment. So far our system has never distinguished the commercial ships from recreational yachts and this has been a huge problem for our businesses. Thanks to ANEN and all of us who form part of it, we have managed to change this. As members of the Board of Directors of ANEN, we can testify to the huge effort required to get this far. A lot of team work was needed and an investment in reports that accurately reflect the sector, to be able show what doesn´t work and to convince the Public Administration why a change is necessary. We have succeeded and made progress through hard work and by going that extra mile. With this new law, which still has to be approved in the Congress, Spain overcomes the contradictions between the international agreements and the last century Spanish normative, harmonizes the legislation with the international maritime law, thus giving us and our clients better legal security, and introduces updates in the sales contracts. If you want to study the details more in depth, you can find the complete Draft of Law on the website of the Ministry of Justice.

The launch of Unimarina, the technological future of the ports

The platform conceived by the Majorcan company Portbooker, with the collaboration of Travelport, will be operational in April 2014. Already now all the ports and marinas in the world can consult their booking codes on the website of unimarina.org.

The launch of the GDS Unimarina, developed jointly by the Majorcan company Portbooker and Travelport, has given us an opportunity to get a glimpse of how the ports and marinas will be managed in the future. We are on the threshold of a new era within the nautical industry worldwide, the products and services accessible now with the help of the latest technology and with the strict quality controls typical of the sector. 

The development of the marine GDS (Global Distribution System) means a revolution comparable to the one in the aviation sector. In 1953, the president of the American Airlines and the commercial director of IBM happened to be seated next to each other on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. They had a visionary conversation resulting in an idea to create a data processing system that would allow a globalized sale of airline tickets. Nine years later, in 1962 the first system, called Sabre, was installed in the IBM 7090 computers. If the system managed to process 84.000 daily telephone calls then, today the technological advances allow the leading GDS  like Galileo of Travelport to reach the capacity of 40.000 messages per second and more than 1.200 million routes per day.

Not a country for entrepreneurs

He came back from the METS 2013 holding his head proudly up. He managed to attract the attention in the biggest professional nautical fair in the world with a product he has developed himself. To get this far on his business career has taken him various years of hard work, some brush ups with the administration and a great deal of effort to walk alone the road of entrepreneurship. “In Spain there is no public support for entrepreneurs, nor for innovation, I had to go on my own to develop the product”, says Carlos Juliá, the creator of Moormeds. Juliá is a person with a vast experience in the nautical sector. With his business acumen he picked on a necessity amongst the boat owners: how to safeguard the electrical cables of a boat in an organized manner while avoiding any damage by water? And with a reasonable price tag, as in these times nobody can afford spending money lightly.

To endeavour is not foreign to Carlos Juliá. Few years ago he left the family business to start on his own. The unemployment benefit he received when leaving his old work, he invested in the creation of Medribs, a company that manufactures inflatable boats in China, sold in Spain through Decathlon. It was a good practice that helped him to start up his new project – Moormeds, covers that can be installed in minutes and that can be adapted to any kind of boat in any port, and that protect the electrical cables in an organized manner, lengthening their useful life and preventing  possible accidents. It is a known fact that electricity and water are no good together.

Draft of Law of Maritime Navigation is approved

The Council of Ministers has approved this Friday the Draft of Law of Maritime Navigation, which puts an end to the contradictions between the international agreements and the Spanish normative hailing back from the last century. Amongst other issues, the law determines the responsibility of those involved in marine traffic, establishes measures to avoid marine pollution and illegal immigration, details the public liability in case of an accident, and improves the protection of the Spanish underwater heritage.

Thus this Draft of Law, which was presented in its preliminary form by the Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz Gallardón to the Council of Ministers a year ago, updates the legislation regarding the sector of the navigation, standardises the legal system according to the International Maritime Law, provides legal certainty and reflects the current reality of the maritime transport. Additionally, it regulates the contracts for the use of the ships, fixes the conditions of the naval construction contracts and adds new elements to the sales contracts of the ships.

In particular, with accidents in mind, the text states that the “most important” tool against the contamination of the seas is the prevention, therefore it sets some restrictions for the reasons of security and maritime protection, like a better control of the ships that show serious deficiencies and risks for navigation, and specification of shelters in case of emergencies.

Besides, the regulation of the accidents will be carried out by referring to the agreements that rule these issues, in cases of boarding, serious malfunction, rescue, shipwrecked or sunken goods and public liability for contamination.

When it comes to public liability for contamination, the Draft of Law points out this is supplementary and additional to the rules specified in the International Agreement over public liability in case of damages due to contamination by hydrocarbon oils, of 1992 (CLC), in the International Agreement over constitution of an international fund for compensation of damages due to contamination by hydrocarbon oils (FUND) and in the International Agreement  over public liability for damages due to contamination by hydrocarbon oils for fuel of the ships (BUNKERS 2001). In other words, the law will regulate only the cases, where the above mentioned agreements are not applicable.

Likewise, the aplication of the limitation is guaranteed  regardless of the legal proceedings (civil, criminal, contentious-administrative) used to demand responsibility, including if responsibility is sought via the administrative route. This way, the responsibility for contamination is guaranteed. The rules of responsibility considered in the International Agreements are tied in the future Law to a specific legal process, in which the subject that seeks to take advantage of these rules, has a duty to set up in advance a limitation fund to guarantee the payment of corresponding compensations.

It should be clarified that the administrative responsibilities are regulated in the combined text of the Law of the State Ports and the Merchant Navy, while the criminal responsibilities are collected in the article 325 of the Penal Code, which categorizes the acts of contamination of the seas, including when they happen at sea.

Europa Press

Abandoned vessels - ANEN and FEADPT jointly demand solutions from the Administration

What to do with the abandoned boats in the ports? Their number is on the increase, and it is estimated that around 15.000 vessels in both marinas and ashore can be classified as abandoned.

The management and the technical personnel of the ports lack means and administrative/legislative support to deal with the situation which,  apart from giving a regrettable image towards the marina users and nautical tourists, can also be a security risk for the port.

Currently there is no legal framework that would effectively and swiftly regulate the removal and recycling of obsolete recreational yachts, as the valid procedures are tedious and don´t offer efficient solutions. This leads a yacht owner without ways and means to deal with the situation to opt for an abandonment of the vessel.

With this in mind, the National Association of Nautical Enterprises (ANEN) and the Spanish Federation of Associations of Tourist Marinas (FEAPDT) have joined forces to request urgent measures to deal with this alarming situation.

The start of the legislative process to update the nautical qualifications

The DGMM has recently forwarded to the concerned parties the text with a proposal for the future Ministerial Order that will regulate the qualifications to navigate recreational vessels. From now on, and once any possible allegations has been collected, the project will continue the legal process until it´s entry into force.

For Carlos Sanlorenzo, the general secretary of  ANEN, “updating  and specifying the designations of our nautical qualifications has been a pending issue since the constitution of ANEN. We were light years behind the European legislation that controls this area of the nautical sector, a factor that has slowed down the progress of the sector. We made DGMM aware of this, and they listened to us. It is a positive result after a huge effort and a lot of work together, which is now entering in the final stages of the legislative process”.

“ From the very first meetings between the DGMM team and ANEN, since my appoitment as the general secretary, it was clear that this was one of the measures required for the recreational yachting to continue developing as a sector, and to contribute to the improvement of other sectors, like the tourism to which it is very closely linked. With this in mind we´ll continue developing the new normative”, assures the director general of the Merchant Navy, Rafael Rodriguez Valero.

The new regulations will allow navigation up to 5 miles without a formal qualification

The new recreational yachting legislation will allow navigation without any kind of formal qualification in daytime on boats up to 4 m of length, as long as they don´t sail further than 5 miles from a safe port or anchorage, pending on the approval of the Ministerial Order remitted this Wednesday to all sides of the industry.

This is the first of the nine modifications presented in the proposal, taking into account the majority of the measures recommended by the National Association of the Nautical Enterprises (ANEN) and agreed with the Administration.

However, this organism will submit the proposal for a study in order to add some improvements "to help the normative to be a motor of reactivation for the nautical sector".

With this new legislative update, motor boats with a maximum power of 11,03 KW (15CV) and up to 4 m of length, or 5 m in question of sailing boats, can navigate further than the areas delimited by the harbour authority, as has been the case so far.

From now on, and as soon as the Direction General of the Merchant navy (DGMM) has dealt with any possible allegations, the legislative process continues its course until entry into force.

For the general secretary of ANEN, Carlos Sanlorenzo, updating the nautical qualifications has been "a pending issue since the constitution of the Association".

STP fully booked until April

The start of the refit and maintenance season for the superyachts looks promising. According to the estimates by the companies working in STP, there are around 100 boats doing repairs and refits at the moment in the yard, and full occupancy is expected until march/april. Besides, the recent elimination of the matriculation tax on charter boats is likely to attract more boats to the Balearic Island, which will benefit the marinas and boat yards.

Joan Rosselló, the manager of STP, explains that the growth is noticeable above all in the category of boats above 30 meters of length. On top of that, "an increasing number of European top level boat builders, like Oyster, Swan and Baltic, establish a base in Mallorca, with a purpose to offer direct after sales service to their clients", he states.

There is a total of over 400 companies authorized by the Balearic Port Authority to work in STP, where the average length of boat is 27 m on hard stand and 36 m in berths. When it comes to the boat profile, Rosselló points out that "we have noticed an increase in the average length and also in the number of sailing boats. Currently the sailing boats count for between 60 and 70 percent of the total, thanks to the keel pits and the space".

Fiscal approximation between ports?

The president of the Port Authority, Alberto Pons justifies the differences between the rates paid by the marinas controlled by the Government through the Ports de Balears and those that depend directly from the State and are controlled by the Balearic Port Authority (APB). On Thursday the two port institutions had a meeting to address, amongst other questions, a possible legislative and fiscal equalization.

"I appreciate that it is in our interest to bring the two institutions closer", he assured, and in continuation expanded that "for better or for worse, the marinas and the yacht clubs that are located in the ports of general interest, are interesting for the recreational yachting, and that, according to the laws of the market, has a value". He states that in the Balearics, the market has set the rates. "The Port Authority specifies the maximum tariffs for the tenders, but from there on the market determines whether further rates are being paid. As I believe in the private initiative and in the market, which have shown to be the formula of success for the APB, I understand we are on the right track", he reasons.

He maintains that "each club is a world apart, and things can´t be forced". According to the president, the concept of Ibiza can´t be transported to Mahon " because it is a question of culture, inertias , port structures, synergies and the services offered by the city where the port is located".

Read article in Diario de Ibiza.

The Port Authority takes a stand against its old top management and reduces the rank of the indicted Matias

The tsunami of changes in the management of the Balearic Port Authority (APB) continues. Barely a month since Alberto Pons took over from the navy commander José María Urrutia, the power structure  changes in the heart of one of the most strategic public institutions of the islands, which employs over 300 public servants and moves over 60 million euros annually.

Yesterday the new presidency raised up to the Administrative Council the first set of fundamental changes in the hierarchy of the APB by substituting at a stroke the two chief executives of the Ports. One of them is the most influential, high ranking public servant of the recent decades who created new internal departments without employing new staff, with the purpose of keeping control of the public assignments - always a lucrative business around the port concessions.

To start with, the new presidency replaces the two top brass, who theoretically occupied the second level on the corporate ladder, but in reality had over the years accumulated a crucial weight within the institution. The until recently area manager and a historical ex-director of the entity, the engineer Ángel Matías, who was indicted in a scandal related to supposed tampering with public assignments that the Public Anti-corruption Prosecutor is investigating (the Mar Blau case), will leave his seat to occupy the charge of Control of Works, where he will have a lot less power. On the other hand, the other of the area managers, Jorge Martín, Matías´right hand man, will also leave his seat to take over the area of Innovation and Quality. As with Matías, it is a charge of lower rank. The two vacant seats in the area management will be assigned to Fernando Berenguer and to the trusted man Juan Carlos Plaza, who came to the direction of APB straight after the appointment of Pons.

Read the complete article in El Mundo.

Letter from the president - November 2013

A few weeks ago we received the news we have eagerly waited for: charter companies and sea schools are going to be exempt from paying the matriculation tax. This historical milestone is the result of a coordinated effort by a lot of people, of hard work by ANEN and AENIB and of a personal implication by various politicians who understand our realities, not forgetting the continued support of our associates – without it  we would not have been able to get this far. A few days ago we received also the official statistics regarding the nautical tourists that visit our islands annually: 450.000, a number that is likely to rise next year.

Next season the charter companies and sea schools will not be required to pay the matriculation tax. We have been working towards this for years. It is a significative step towards revoking this tax on boats completely, a tax that is unique in Europe and which makes us uncompetitive compared to our neighbours. We have been working for years together with ANEN to get rid of this burden, and along the way we have gained support from various representatives of the political and entrepreneurial sector. It has taken innumerable hours of work, meetings after meetings with various administrations on the european as well as national level, to prepare a practical strategic plan to help us to reach our goal, not to mention the economic effort required. From the next season on, the recreational nautical sector of the islands will start a path towards growth and prosperity.

AENIB´s recommendations before doing charter in Spain

After some delays, last Wednesday October 30th the Spanish Official State Gazette (BOE) published Law 16/2013, of October 28, 2013, adopting measures regarding environmental tax issues and other tax and financial measures. That Law modifies the matriculation/registration tax exemption established by the Spanish Excise Duties Law (Law 39/1992) for vessels effectively and exclusively engaged in the charter activity, eliminating the reference to the maximum length of 15 meters that was required under the previous wording of the Law in order to benefit from the tax exemption. 

The legal process has been tedious as the legal modification had been announced by the Council of Ministers of the Spanish Government on June 28, 2013 and, after a long and somewhat confusing amendments period, has finally been approved and published. The resulting modification of the tax exemption is the outcome of the efforts of many people and nautical industry associations that have spent long time dealing with the tax and maritime authorities, as well as with other members of the political groups involved. 

The Preamble of the Law itself recognizes that this measure will bring the Spanish tax regulations closer into line with those of other European countries, strengthen the Spanish yachting industry (owners, yacht managers, yacht brokers, shipyards, marinas, berths, maintenance, refit, etc.) and produce a revitalizing effect in other productive industries, with the consequence of increasing the capacity to generate wealth and employment. In addition, it will facilitate and make operating charter yachts in Spain more attractive to those who have been avoiding it mainly for tax reasons. It will also help Spain in the diversification, deseasonalization and deconcentration of traditional tourism, which has also been on its agenda for a long time.

Nautical tourism attracts annually around 450.000 tourists to the Balearic Islands

The overall nautical tourism attracts around 450.000 tourists to the Balearics annually, and 2,5% of these confirm that they have practiced nautical sports like diving, according to the press release by the Council of Tourism and Sports this Monday. The Balearic Islands have participated in the ´Dive Show´ of Birmingham, promoting the islands as a diving destination at this show specialized in underwater activities.

The Balearic Islands, through the Balearic Tourism Agency (ATB) participated in this fair last weekend with a stand of 25 m2 with an aim to position the community as a destination for sports diving, and thus highlight the natural and environmental resources of our islands.

300 exhibitors from the sector participated in the latest edition of the ´Dive Show´, including charter and sale of diving boats, equipment, underwater photography and diving schools, amongst others.

Practical training in companies for CAEB pupils

CAEB/BSEF is going to organize courses of professional training that allows the participants to obtain certificates of competence for AUXILIARY OPERATIONS OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND GENERAL SERVICES and for ADMINISTRATION.Apart from the classes of theory, these courses include practical non-working training in companies doing administrative duties (40 hrs per pupil in the first alternative and 80 hrs per pupil in the second) to be had between October and middle of December. 

The practical training will not constitute a working contract between the pupil and the collaborating company, which is entitled to a subvention of 3 euros per pupil and hour of training. The collaborating companies are requested to dedicate a tutor from the company to follow up and to evaluate the progress of the pupil.

If your company is interested in collaborating in this programme, please contact María Montojo (mmontojo@caeb.es or tel. 971 70 60 08), and she will get back to you.

The Congress approves the elimination of the matriculation tax on recreational yachts destined for charter

The companies dedicated to charter and nautical tourism can start planning their 2014 season with the new fiscal situation in mind, which no doubt will help create jobs and wellbeing, consolidating the supply of quality services for the nautical tourism.

- The law will come into force next week, after it is published in the BOE (Official State Bulletin).

- The nautical sector, represented by ANEN, AENIB, AEGY, MYBA and with the help of Direction General of the Merchant Navy, have thus reached one of their main objectives for industrial and entrepreneurial growth.

- This measure does justice to the nautical charter activity, as it matches the fiscal treatment of the recreational charter yachts to the one applied to rental cars. From now on, the recreational charter yachts and sea schools are levied only the VAT of 21%.

- The sea schools don´t need to pay the matriculation tax for their boats anymore either.

Letter from the President - October 2013

This month AENIB participated at the Barcelona International Boat Show. Those few days were very productive with a general focus on how to improve our sector. On the 20th od September some of the most influential representatives of the European nautical sector had a meeting in Palma to address the equivalence of the professional captain´s licenses in Spain, Germany and UK. It was a fruitful meeting, where we had the honour to participate and express our point of view. Only a few days ago the appointment of Alberto Pons as the new President of the Port Authority, replacing José María Urrutia, was made public.

A couple of weeks ago we participated in the Barcelona International Boat Show sharing a stand with ATB, the Balearic Tourism Agency. We had a very succesful few days establishing contacts and explaining the work we do on behalf of our entrepreneurs. We could see clearly how the Show reflects the crisis of the recreational nautical sector, and despite having numerous visitors, the sales results as well as the number of exhibitors were not satisfactory.

Talking more generally of the event, during these few days the Show generated such a number of news that we would need to write several bulletins to address them all! Specially notable were the different meetings organized by ANEN to debate the problems that affect us as a sector and to pass on our worries to the public administration. Along these lines an informative breakfast meeting was organised between ANEN and the Director General of the Merchant Navy, Rafael Rodriguez Valero, where issues like the anticipated new ministerial order regarding the change of qualifications and imminent elimination of the matriculation tax for charter were discussed.

The Barcelona Boat Show receives 53.000 visitors

The Barcelona International Boat Show 2013 exceeded the initial expectations, which were conditioned by the difficulties derived from the economic crisis and the specifics of the sector. The event has contributed to the invigoration of the commercial activity on the nautical market, promoting sales and commercial contacts. Besides, the timing of the show with all its novelties to coincide with the Fiesta de la Mercé (an important local celebration) and the Mediterranean Tall Ships Regatta, succeeded in making Barcelona once again the focal point of the nautical sector.

In its 52nd edition, the Barcelona Boat Show, the most important in Spain and one of the more relevant ones in Europe in its field, generated business and numerous contacts. “A large majority of the exhibitors have evaluated their participation very positively, hoping that many of the operations initiated at the show will come to a fruition in the coming months”, assures the President of the Barcelona Boat Show, Luis Conde, after pointing out that “we have managed to attract a large number of foreign visitors, mainly French, British, German and Russians with high purchasing power, one of the main objectives this year to counteract the sluggishness of the domestic market”.

A few hours before the finish of the show, 53.000 people have visited the show, a quantity that the director of the show, Jordi Freixas, evaluates as very positive “as it demonstrates the great loyalty of the visitors, whether professionals, yachting enthusiasts or the public in general”.

The new framework for the nautical charter is an opportunity for growth

During the Barcelona Boat Show a conference titled “The new legislative and fiscal scenario for the nautical charter sector” took place. It was organized jointly by ANEN and the boat show itself, and was a success in participation. The new normative gives an opportunity for growth by insisting on the necessity to streamline the legislative process and to unify criteria.

The exemption of the matriculation tax for the nautical charter, currently in a legislative process to come into force probably at the end of October 2013, has generated high expectations in all the subsectors that make up the recreational nautical sector.

It is an opportunity for growth for a sector that still needs improvement, specially when it comes to speeding up the administrative processes as well as to unifying criteria for the correct application of the future normative between the different autonomic administrations.

In the meeting two large thematic areas were addressed, each at their own round table where recognized experts in maritime law, representatives of yacht clubs and marinas and directors of service companies related to the charter industry participated.

The Barcelona Boat Show highlights the emerging markets

The Barcelona Boat Show opens its doors on the 24th of September, coinciding with the start of the local celebration ´Fiestas de la Mercé´, with a special focus on the emerging markets, as Russia and China, to combat the sluggish domestic demand.

The show, which will go on in the Catalonian capital until the 29th of September, will have 236 exhibitors that will show more than 650 vessels, 60 of them for the first time in Spain, and hopes to achieve 50.000 visitors.

In the press conference, the director of the show, Jordi Freixas, explained that the organization carried out a market research to capture foreign residents and those foreigners with a residence in Spain, with a special attention to Russian citizens, who are becoming more and more prominent in the Costa Brava.

Although no specific activities has been planned for these visitors with high purchasing power, more Russian speaking staff will be available to make these visitors feel at home.

The Barcelona Boat Show asks PP to eliminate the tax from private boats

The president of the Barcelona Boat Show, Luis Conde, urged this Wednesday the Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, to eliminate the matriculation tax on private yachts.

This tax of 12% is levied on yachts over the length of 8 m. He added that in his opinion no other party would act on this. "If this is not done by PP, nobody else will do it. We have to try to make Montoro a sailor, as he is the one sitting on the cash register", Conde said during the press conference  at the presentation of the boat show.

Along the same vein, he explained that the other ministers involved - Pastor and Soria - are already willing to accept the demands from the sector. According to Conde, this lessening of the tax burden would put us in equal footing with our neighbors and would boost the sector by attracting more tourist, and that way increase the tax revenue: "Sun, 8.000 km of coast line, sympathetic people and islands we already have".

Letter from the president - September 2013

After a busy month of August comes the even more hectic September without giving us a moment of rest. AENIB will participate once again in the Barcelona International Boat Show, the most important event of this type on a national level. On the 20th of September the TRECVET conference will take place, in which many influential persons from both the national as well as the international nautical sector will approach an issue of great importance: the equalisation of the profesional captains qualifications in Spain, Germany and UK. When it comes to the local news, there has been a lot of controversy about the management of mooring buoys. We believe this is a topic of sufficient importance as to ask for the responsable parties to rethink their policies.

From 24th to the 29th of September one of the most important boat shows on a national level will take place in Barcelona. AENIB will share a stand with the Balearic Tourism Agency, giving information about all the associated nautical companies to those who want to visit our island, whether for business or for pleasure. You are welcome to bring us all the material you wish to exhibit at the stand. Over the recent years the Barcelona show has developed into an event equally attractive for the exhibitors as well as for the professionals and visiting public.

The TRECVET conference in Palma addresses the recognition of captain´s qualifications between Spain, Germany and UK

On the 20th of September the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca will organize a conference regarding TRECVET, a project financed by the European Union whose objective is to create a tool for breaking down in more basic elements the different requirements for the course contents and profesional qualifications on recreational yachts, thus making them more objectively comparable.

The conference is free, you only need to register on their website.

The conference will be given in English and some authorities are going to participate:

1). Rafael Rodriguez Valero, Director General de la Marina Mercante,

2). José Escalas, Capitán Marítimo de Palma,

3). Carlos Sanlorenzo, President of ANEN,

4). José M. Bertrán President of ANPPER.

5). Margarita Dahlberg, President of AENIB,

6). Sarah Tresedar, CEO RYA,

7). Richard Falk, Chief Examiner, Royal Yachting Association(RYA),

8). Pat Bullock, Network Group.

Lettter from the president - August 2013

Another year the Kings Cup has brought the cream of the international yachting to Mallorca -renowned yacht owners, entrepreneurs and of course yachtsmen of the highest level. The event is not only a sporting competition but has an important social and economical aspect as well.

This month we have also had a chance to meet various members of the Balearic government in relation to the Organizing Committee of the Palma Boat Show and the Balearic Maritime Cluster (CMIB). These meetings have confirmed the good understanding between the administration and the nautical sector and the mutual intention to make the Palma Boat Show grow. Thats all very well, but at the national level over the past few days we have also seen how those who up until very recently demanded the elimination of the matriculation tax, now for mere party politics critizice that the process to make it a reality has been started.

The 32nd Copa del Rey Mapfre has kept the Balearic capital and the whole Mallorca at the top of the news, both when it comes to the Spanish media as well as internationally. Since the start of the competition, varios newspaper pages has been filled with the results as well as the social and economical aspects of the event. A great example of this appears on the page 10 of the El Mundo newspaper´s Balearic edition on the 31st of July, in an article that reviews the great fortunes that have participated in the regatta over the years. No doubt this is great publicity benefiting the whole nautical sector. Besides, the Kings Cup creates wealth for the economy in total. The numerous visitors that come to the event are people of high purchasing power, who enjoy the very best that our islands have to offer, and in many cases are prepared to repeat the experience. This good quality tourism that spends money both in accommodation and in complimentary services, is what the administration should stimulate, as it really has a future and contributes to the prosperity of the whole community. From AENIB we congratulate the Real Club Náutico of Palma for a job well done during the King´s Cup and for their effort to involve the local residents in the event.

The Government has issued the same amount of charter licenses so far as during the whole of 2012

The Direction General of Ports and Airports has issued a total of 1.461 charter licenses  between January and July 2013, while during the year 2012 the total amount was 1.462.

This information came from the Council of Tourism and Sports in a communique that stated also that yacht charters, which are regulated by ministerial order, have increased by 16% since 2010, when a total of 1.259 charter licenses were issued, followed by 1.288 in 2011 and 1.462 last year.

On the other hand, the Government pointed out that 8 out 10 boats, chartered either by companies or private persons, are spanish flagged. German flagged boats came second with 8%, followed by British flagged boats with 7%.

Likewise, the Balearic institution indicated that approximately three out of four licenses were initiated by charter companies, while the rest were applied by private individuals.

The yacht harbours reach higher levels of occupation than in 2012

The activity level of the yacht harbours and yacht clubs of Mallorca has also been affected by the crisis, specially in June and in the first half of July, although from 20th of July and so far in August " luckily a change in demand has been noticeable. We are in the height of the summer and it makes a difference", as indicated from the Association of Yacht Clubs of the Balearic Islands (ACNB) and the Association of the Marinas and Nautical Installations of the Balearic Islands (ANADE).The manager of ACNB, Rafael Palmer, points out that the tendency has been very similar, except a few cases, in the majority of the yacht clubs, specially when it comes to transit berths, which are rented in the high season and which have a positive effect in the companies income statements.Rental of the berthsThe yacht clubs of Andratx, Sa Rápita and Pollensa mark the pace when it comes to rentals of the berths for medium size boats, together with luxury end of the market, like Portals or Club de Mar. " In June and July there was some uncertainty as how the rental ratios were going to develop, but from the end of July there is a waiting list until the 20th of this month because of the rise in demand, mainly by the foreign clientele.The prices of the berths are very similar to previous years, although there are ports with higher demand than others which contributes to a higher commercialization regardless of whether there is a crisis or not. In any case, as happened last year according to ACNB, "the boat owners, specially of the nine and ten meter lengths, navigate close to the coast, and instead of venturing further afield they opt for closer locations, mainly to reduce the fuel consumption, despite it being cheaper this year."Complete piece of news in Ultima Hora.

The first informal get together of the members of the EU Group of AENIB

On the 27th of June a considerable number of EU members of AENIB and other interested nautical entrepreneurs had an informal meeting in the bar Varadero. Although the atmosphere was relaxed, it was a proper working meeting in which many important issues that affect the day to day running of the nautical companies came up. Some of the problems discussed were the of lack of space in STP, resulting in loss of business for many local refit and service companies, when they have to turn clients away. Another issue was the prohibitive charges imposed by the port Authority for the companies located on the premises, making their overheads so high they end up pricing themselves out of the market. And how to convince Astilleros to give Access to outside contractors to work on their premises was another question raised. A subcommitté was formed to serve as a link between STP, Astilleros and AENIB in an attempt to find a satisfactory solution for all parties.

In the meeting the recent Palma Boat Show was also discussed, and allthough the show´s come back was considered successful, those present emphasized the need to concentrate heavily on attracting not just visitors but those clients who will come with a serious intention to buy.

ANEN drives the defense of the Spanish nautical sector in Europe

During the General Assembly of EBI (European Boating Industry), the main nautical collective in Europe which ANEN is a member of and the sole Spanish representative since its constitution, the General Secretary of our association, Carlos Sanlorenzo was elected as a member of the board.Forming an integral part of this European lobby is of vital importance to us as we try to defend the interests of our sector and reach for objectives difficult to achieve at a national level. Without a doubt, the equal fiscal treatment of the Spanish nautical sector compared to its neighbors stands out as one of our main goals. It is a claim the ANEN team put special emphasis on during the General Assembly of EBI.Regarding this, the first action that the association is going to realize at an European level, is the execution of the resolution of the European Commission, which has qualified the matriculation tax as disproportionate and against the free movement of goods and services, forcing the Spanish State to act upon it.IN the meeting, which took place on the 28th of May, all the other members of the board of EBI were re-elected on a two year mandate until June 2015.Members of the new board of EBI:

ANEN has a meeting with the Director General of the Taxation and the Director General of Industry

During the month of July ANEN has continued to work to speed up the improvements in the nautical sector regarding the fiscal matters. After the announcement of the imminent elimination of the matriculation tax for the charter yachts, the Association is working on a series of measures to propel the law change in the shortest time frame possible, taking into account how long legal processes like this can take. With this in mind, ANEN, as the only representative of the nautical sector on a national level, will have a meeting this week with the Director General of Taxation, Diego Martín-Abril y Calvo. This will be followed by another meeting next week with Director General of the Department of Industry, Manuel Valle Muñoz.  Carlos Sanlorenzo, the General Secretary of ANEN, will look for more administrative support by passing on to these politicians the proposals for improvements and homogenization at EU level that the sector needs. Both meetings will open new doors for the recreational yachting, highlighting its importance as an industry sector and competitive driving force in the economy.

The SANYA-HAINAN International Boat Show & Festival in China, the next international mission of ANEN

The first edition of the International Boat Show and Festival of Sanya, Hainan will be celebrated from 17th to 20th of October 2013. Hainan, identified as the Chinese Caribbean, is an area with various marina developments, as its geographical location offers lot better weather conditions than the mainland China.Some international manufacturers like Brunswick, Sunseeker, Cobalt, Chaparral etc. have already confirmed their participation in the event.ANEN will have a stand of 9 m2, which will be available for their associates free of charge, to present their products and services in the Chinese market. Besides, those who wish to have their own stand can book it directly through the organizers.Find attached more information about the event and conditions of participation in this document. Those who wish to share a stand with ANEN should get in touch with José Luis Fayos through the e-mail of the association anen@anen.es

ANEN starts a working group to find solutions for storage of explosives and collection of expired artefacts

Over the last few months ANEN has received various enquiries related to problems with having explosives and their correct storage in the working place after the expiry date. To be able to respond to our associates in this matter, the ANEN team has had various meetings with the Direction General of the Merchant Navy, which has promised to try to reach an agreement between the parties, although this issue belongs directly to the competency of the Interior Ministry.At ANEN we believe it would be important to create a working group together with the affected nautical companies, to collect more complete information of the problem and to look for a satisfactory solutions for all parties. We would like to invite you to join this working group, there is no need to have physical meeting as we can  look for solutions and work together online.If you are interested, please get in touch with the association by e-mail electronicoanen@anen.es. We´ll start the first debates within short.

The councillor of Economy and Competitiveness of the Balearic Government emphasizes the importance to strengthen the nautical sector to generate activity and jobs.

The councillor of Economy and Competitiveness, Joaquin García, and the Director General of the Trade and Enterprise, Lourdes Cardona, had a meeting this morning with the Balearic Maritime Cluster, chaired by its president, Iolanda Piedra and the president of the Association of the Nautical Enterprises in the Balearics, Margarita Dahlberg. In the first meeting of this group, the councillor expressed his support for the Blue Economy and his interest to strengthen all the related sectors with the help of European funds.

The European Union has defined the Blue Economy as the sector best positioned to create solutions for the current economical crisis and to generate wellbeing and employment in the coming years. Regarding this, it has established a course of actions that include marine energies, aquiculture (growing plants in water/nutrients, without soil), maritime and coastal tourism, cruise liners, mineral resources and blue biotechnology.

"Apart from the nautical sector there are many other complimentary sectors that can be included in the concept of blue economy. Renewables, biotechnology... Many sectors related to the sea that generate activity and thus employment", pointed out councillor Garcia, who has committed to keeping in touch regularly with the cluster to find ways to collaborate in this field.

The Palma Boat Show will grow 15% next year

The Director General of the Department of Trade and Industry, Lourdes Cardona, had a meeting this morning with the Organizing Committee Of the Palma Boat Show to assess the last edition, in which the public and private sectors collaborated for the first time, and to talk about plans for the next year. 

This event, which celebrated its 30th edition this year and which managed to place itself as the most important show on a national level and third most important at an European level, has with this success secured continuity. “The change of format has been a success which has strenghtened the whole industry and local businesses related to the nautical sector, as well as the complimentary services”, Lourdes Cardona pointed out.

The aim is to create a show attractive to all and to help the nautical sector of the islands to generate activity, while trying to make the show self financing.

Recreational Yacht Market Report / January-June 2013

ANEN has just finished editing the Market Report of recreational yachts corresponding to the first half of 2013, with an analysis of the data obtained from the Direction General of the Merchant Navy. You can consult this report at h http://www.anen.es/index.php?op=menu&mid=5&smid=50

The first half of 2013 presents a negative result of national volume of registrations showing a fall of 28%, compared to the first half of the year 2012, according to the report, main findings of which we´ll explain in continuation.

AENIB´s first contact with the Government´s new counselor of Economy and Competitiveness

The Association of the Nautical Enterprises in the Balearic Islands (AENIB) had a meeting with the counselor of Economy and Competitiveness, Joaquin García, to talk about the future of the Palma Boat Show as well as the Nautical Sector Strategic Working Group, in which AENIB is actively involved.

This was the first meeting of the two parties since Mr García was appointed counselor about a month ago. He emphasized the importance of the nautical sector for the Balearic economy and expressed his understanding of the problems that were laid out to him in this first meeting with the representatives of AENIB. During the meeting the discussions ranged from how to invigorate the sector, how to convey the importance of the environment of the islands and how to generate added value to the model of tourism we have on the Balearics.

The Government will eliminate the “matriculation tax” on the charter yachts

The Ministry of Treasury and Public Administration, on recommendation by the Ministry of Public Works, will modify by law the Special Tax over Certain Means of Transport, popularly known as the “Matriculation Tax”. The elimination of this tax concerns the recreational vessels over 15 m destined for comercial use.

The Tax over Certain Means of Transport, regulated in the Law of Special Taxes, levies a 12% tax on the value of recreational yachts over 8 m destined for private use and on commercial yachts over 15 m.

Spain is the only country amongst our neighbors that burdens the vessels with this 12% tax on top of the VAT, which means we are not competitive in the charter market. The charter yachts limit their stay in the spanish ports and along the coast during the summer season, and avoid choosing Spain as their winter base, fomenting the delocation elsewhere of companies that serve these yachts.

Letter from the President - July 2013

Last week we received the news the spanish nautical sector has been waiting for a long time: “The Government will eliminate the matriculation tax for chárter yachts”. We are closer than ever to be able to compete under the same conditions as our European neigbors, which will no doubt benefit the whole community. 

Apart from that, in the middle of June we had a meeting with the new Counselor of Economy and Competitiveness, Joaquin Garcia, to urge him to make some progress with the Nautical Sector Working Group and to continue with the Palma Boat Show project. Thus the month of June has brought along big news, which I will comment in detail in continuation and also bring to the fore other relevant issues.

We have been fighting for years against the matriculation tax, this fiscal monster that leaves us at disadvantage in the European market. Today we can state that justice has been done to the nautical charter with this big step towards the definite elimination of the tax. Soon we in the Balearics will be able to develop all our potential for economic growth. It has required hundreds of hours of work by a formidable team of individuals, as well as numerous meetings and contacts with the political and administrative decisión makers to get this far. We have to remember that this is still a draft only which has to be approved in the Parliament to become a definite law. That said, I believe it is within our possibilities to get rid of this burden before the start of the next high season. This victory would not have been possible without the close cooperation between AENIB, ANEN, AEGY, MYBA and all the entrepreneurs that these associations represent. We have achieved this by joining our forces as a sector.

The Government will eliminate the "matriculation tax" on commercial yachts

The Ministry of Treasury and Public Administration Services, on the proposal of the Ministry of Public Works will modify, through a Law, the Special Tax on Certain Means of Transport (IEDMT), popularly known as the "Matriculation Tax". The elimination of the tax is applied to recreational yachts above 15 destined to commercial use.

The Special Tax on Certain Means of Transport, regulated in the Law of Special Taxes, levies a tax of 12% of the value of a private yacht above 8 m and commercial yacht above 15 m on its first registration.

Spain is the only country amongst our neighbors that levies this tax, on top of the VAT, which means a loss of competitiveness of our charter sector. The yachts dedicated to the activity of charter limit their stay along the Spanish coast and in Spanish ports during the season, and avoid staying here in the winter, resulting in de-location of the companies that do business with these yachts.

The Barcelona Boat Show sets its promotion plan in motion

After various meetings of the communication working group of the Show Organization, consisting of the Barcelona Boat Show and ANEN, various plans for the promotion strategy have been developed for the next edition of the Show.

As it was announced in a press conference on the 21st of June by the General Secretary of ANEN, one of the priorities of this edition of the Show is to attract more foreign clients.

With this in mind, the Show will carry out, apart from the promotional work in its international delegations, a promotional campaign in the main Spanish yachting harbors to encourage the visits from the residents of foreign origin that often frequent these harbors. These actions are backed up by public relations exercises in the more prestigious ports and marinas, with an aim to strengthen the image of the Show in events with a high participation of foreign VIP clients.

The structure of the new building at Moll Vell is finished and the rest of the work will be completed before Christmas

The reform of the Moll Vell will be finished before Christmas. The structure of the building is now completed, and the silhouette that will be welcoming the passers-by from the direction Avenida Antoni Maura can be clearly observed. Also the wide flight of stairs that give continuity to the said passage all the way up to roof terrace of the new building is ready, giving access to an unobstructed view of both the old harbor and part of the adjacent boatyards.

The first phase of the construction was very complicated, although everything has progressed without incidents, according to our sources at the construction. We are talking about the basement, situated on an artificially gained ground and below the sea level, giving fears of possible water leaks, as the materials previously used were not that reliable.

The transformation of the Moll Vell area next to the old town was initiated in November last year with the demolition of two existing buildings, the old restaurant La Lubina and the offices of various consignees and nautical companies.

Pupils available for non-working profesional training in companies

CAEB/BSEF is carrying out training actions that allow the participants to obtain a Certificate of Professionalism which will increase their options of entry into the labour market. In these actions can participate pupils who have completed 800 hrs of theoretical training in BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION and also pupils who have participated in courses specialized in CREATION OF SMALL BUSINESSES AND MICRO ENTERPRISES (480 hrs of theoretical training at superior level).

Apart from the theoretical training, the said actions include realization of non-working profesional internship in companies (80 hours per pupil in the first case, and 40 hours per pupil in the second case), to be carried out between July and November. The internship don´t suppose an existence of a labour contract between the pupil and the collaborating company, which will receive a subvención of 120 € or 240 € per pupil. The collaborating companies are required to appoint a tutor who will follow up and evaluate the progress of the pupil, whose tasks can not be complimentary to the regular staff of the company. If your company is interested in offering non-working professional training to one or more pupils, please pass us your contact details.

Josep Fortuny Gomila

jfortuny@caeb.es

Director of CAEB Menorca

Tel. (+34) 971 356 375 :: Fax. (+34) 971 356 376

The next edition of the Palma Boat Show will grow by 15%

The Director General of Commerce and Enterprise, Lourdes Cardona, had a meeting this morning with the Organizing Committee of the Palma Boat Show to evaluate the last edition, the first collaboration between the public and private sectors, and to discuss the novelties that are planned for next year.

The event, which celebrated its 30th edition this year and is considered to be the number one national show and third most important at the European level, was a great success, thus securing its continuity. "The change of the format has been a success and it has strengthened the whole industry as well as the local businesses with a connection to the nautical sector and other complimentary services", Lourdes Cardona pointed out.

The show has the most competitive pricing in Europe. The exhibitors pay considerably less than in other European fairs of the same category, the reason being that it is managed by the public sector and is not seen as a business venture. The aim is to offer a show open to all segments of the public and to support the nautical sector of the islands so that it can generate activity. At the same time, a great effort is made to make the event finance itself. Not having closed the accounts of the 30th edition of the show yet, the Council of Economy and Competitiveness expects moderate results. The department directed by Joaquin García together with the rest of the organization have agreed to invest these funds in the promotion of the next year´s event.