Urgent to speed up the reform of the nautical qualifications

In Spain we can´t waste the opportunity to promote the use of boats and make the enjoyment of nautical activities easier, and to facilitate the acquisition of nautical qualifications, without unreasonable demands and complexities. Paving the way right from the start, simplifying the access to a Nautical Certificate (equivalent of the current "titulin"), rationalizing the theoretical part of all the qualifications, reducing the practical lessons and demands on the content of radio communications - specially  for the most popular qualifications like PER - will benefit the whole sector.

That´s the way to go according to AEGY (The Spanish Superyacht Association, AENIB (The Association of the Nautical Enterprises in the Balearic Islands), ANAVRE (The Recreational Yachtsmen´s Association), CME (the Spanish Maritime Cluster), The Marine Council of CEOE (The Spanish Confederation of Employer´s Organizations) and FEAPDT (The Spanish Federation of Associations of Tourist Marinas), who together with ANEN (The National Association of Nautical Enterprises) join their forces to reclaim the urgency to speed up the parliamentary processes necessary for ratification of the Ministerial Order of the reform of the nautical qualifications.

The next nautical season which will start in only a couple of months time is clearly influenced by the planned changes and improvements of the qualifications, which are expected to give a positive push to the different nautical activities. For Diego Colón de Carvajal, the President of AEGY, "the extension of the validity of the qualification of the Yacht Captain (Capitán de Yate) contemplated in the reform is without a doubt a necessary and pressing measure for the future of the superyacht sector".

According to the president of AENIB, Margarita Dahlberg "in the Balearic Islands,currently the autonomic community with a largest market share of recreational yachts, we have verified data showing that the waiting for the entry in force of the reform is slowing down the sale and charter operations of boats. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the Administration will stick to their commitment and planned time frame so that the application of the new normative will coincide with the season of 2014, as  the future of many businesses and the employment they generate will depend on it".

For ANAVRE the consensus of the sector is evident: " it is imperative that the results of three years of work together will become a reality; this situation can not go prolong any further. Many yachting enthusiasts are waiting for the planned simplification of the normative to gain access to their first nautical qualification, or to upgrade an existing one. They will not make any decisions until the Ministerial Order will enter into force, which will besides align our legislation with that of our neighbors in the EU".

Federico Esteve, the President of CME,  assures that "attending to the recommendation of the European Commission regarding the integration of national maritime policies, our nautical sector can not stay on the sidelines, and without a doubt the ratification of the normative that regulates our nautical qualifications is urgent in order for our nautical sector to develop in the same pace as the rest of Europe".

Adolfo Utor, the President of the Marine Council of CEOE, takes a similar stand: "A mutual characteristic of all the industrial and entrepreneurial sectors that are members of the Council of the Sea of CEOE is that they have to compete in international, open markets. We always advocate a maximum harmonization of normative internationally. Therefore, the approximation of the nautical qualifications to those valid in other European countries is totally logical and would support the competitiveness of this important sector with a huge growth potential in Spain".

"For the tourist marinas, to simplify and to speed up the access to nautical qualifications would boost our activity, and we trust this will become a reality ahead of the coming season", declares Gabriel de Sandoval, the President of FEAPDT.

"Para los puertos deportivos, simplificar y agilizar el acceso a las titulaciones náuticas supondrá un impulso de nuestra actividad que confiamos sea ya una realidad de cara a la próxima temporada", declara Gabriel de Sandoval, Presidente de FEAPDT.

The displayed consensus of the different areas of the national nautical sector, the Administration can not delay their response.

"We need a push from the Administration so that the application of the new normative will not prolong any longer than March", says Carlos Sanlorenzo, the General Secretary of ANEN. "Another delay would endanger the opportunity to deal with a critical situation in the nautical sector. The business could be boosted this season by making it easier for the users to obtain the most market friendly nautical qualifications of the whole Europe", concludes Carlos Sanlorenzo.

(*) This article was produced by the nautical organizations of the industry, businesses, users, superyachts, tourist marinas and institutions of the marine sector who agree on the urgent necessity to speed up the entry in force of the ministerial order of the reform of the nautical qualifications. Nearly three years ago the National Association of the Nautical Enterprises (ANEN) brought up the necessity to establish a new legal framework for the regulation of the nautical qualifications. In those European countries where the nautical sector has more relative weight, the requirements and validity of the qualifications to command recreational yachts have evolved in parallel with the necessities and the improvement of the competitiveness of the sector.

Vía Nauta 360