The II Nautical Congress organized by the Spanish Nautical Trade Association (ANEN), kicked off this morning in Barcelona with various relevant talks, amongst them one given by Fernando Henriquez on behalf of the Directorate General of the Merchant Navy (DGMM), in which he revealed to the nearly 200 person strong audience the final text of the Ministerial Order for the reform of the nautical qualifications. The Ministerial Order could enter into force within two to three months, without having to pass through the court of the State Council.
In his address, Henriquez unveiled how the new normative will widen the validity of the most common and popular nautical qualifications, mainly the Recreational Yacht Skipper (PER).
In the round table discussion dedicated to "Reformative status quo of the recreational yachting" the spokesman of the DGMM explained to the participants that no qualifications are needed to control a motor boat of less than 5 m of length, or a sailing boat of less than 6 m, as long as the navigation takes place during the daylight hours and doesn´t extend further than 2 miles from a sheltered harbour.
On the other hand, the Navigation Certificate (the previous "titulin") is granted to navigate jet skis and motor and sailing vessels below 6 m of length, with power adjusted to the size of the vessel, during daytime and no further than 2 miles from a shelter. This licence is granted by sea schools and federations with a quality certification, after 2 hours of theoretical studies (including notions of radio) and 4 hours of practice.
A Skipper of Basic Navigation (PNB) will be entitled to navigate a motor boat up to 8 m of length with power adjusted to the size of the vessel, up to 5 miles from a shelter, after passing exams run by the Administration (as currently) and after having done 8 hours of practice and a 4-hour course of radio communications (2 hours of theory and 2 hours of practice). As in previous case, the classes of theory and practice are given by sea schools and federations with a quality certification.
PER (Recreational Boat Skipper), the qualification that has supposedly undergone the most significant modification, will entitle its holder to control motor and sailing boats up to 15 m of length (in case of sailing boats after specific practical training), with power adjusted to the size of the vessel, day and nighttime navigation up to 12 miles from the coast and within the archipelagos of the Balearics and Canary Islands, after passing exams run by the Administration and having done 16 hours of practical training and a radio operators course of 12 hours (4 hours of theory and 8 hours of practice). In case of PER, only the certified sailing schools can run these courses.
On top of that, additional 24 hours of practical training will give a holder of this qualification a right to skipper motor and sailing boats up to 24 m of length (when it comes to sailing boats, after specific practical training), and navigate between the mainland and the Balearic Islands.
A holder of a Yacht Skipper´s licence is allowed to command motor and sailing boats of up to 24 m of length (with some extra practice in case of sailing boats), to a maximum distance of 150 miles from the coast, which in practical terms means a permit to navigate in the whole of the Mediterranean without restrictions. The Administration is in charge of the exams, which can be taken after 48 hours of practical training and a 12-hour radio operator´s course.
Finally, and not without controversy, a Yacht Captain´s licence is reduced from the unlimited boat length to 24 m, as according to DGMM vessels bigger than 24 m are considered ships. The navigated distances are unlimited though. To obtain this licence, one has to pass an exam run by the Administration, having previously taken part in 48-hour practical training and in 12-hour radio operator´s course.
Improvement of the fiscal treatment of the nautical sector
Fernando Henriquez commented also in his speech that the Merchant Navy agrees that "to promote the recreational yachting, more competitive fiscal treatment is called for, and that´s why we are behind the fiscal modifications demanded by the sector".
Lawyer Miguel Angel Serra, of Garrigues Abogados, also referred to the issue when he spoke about the 12% matriculation tax. He explained that "although the tax has been withdrawn from lengths above 15 m, there are still limitations". According to Serra "we should strive to a similar situation as in airplane charter, since megayachts will always have an element of private use and are never dedicated 100% to charter".
Read the complete article in Naucher Global
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