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.