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The APB celebrates World Book Day with an exhibition of Balearic maritime documentary heritage

The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) is taking part in World Book Day on 23 April with a stand in front of its headquarters, following a suggestion from the archive staff. The aim is to make the Port Authority's bibliographic heritage accessible to everyone.

There will be a stand to showcase books on maritime subjects published by the APB. Also, comics called Las puertas del mar, “The Gates of the Sea” in English, explaining the importance of ports in the Islands, as well as magnets of the lighthouses of the Balearic Islands, will be handed out.

This year's new feature is that everyone who chooses to share photos or videos on social media at the APB photocall will win a book as a gift. All participants will receive a free gift from the port organisation with titles such as: A la llum del far. Testimoni dels darrers faroners balears (By the light of the lighthouse. Testimony of the last Balearic lighthouse keepers), Els fars de sa Dragonera (The lighthouses of Dragonera), Curiositats del Port de Palma de Mallorca (Interesting facts about the Port of Palma de Mallorca) and Els grans ports de les Balears al segle XXI (The major ports of the Balearics in the 21st century).

In addition, anyone who visits the stall located in Palma's Moll Vell will be able to view the five ports managed by the port organisation (Alcúdia, Eivissa, Maó, Palma and La Savina) through virtual reality glasses.

The APB grants authorisation for the management of a nautical facility for small and medium-sized boats in the port of Eivissa to Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles

At a meeting held today in Palma, the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) agreed to grant the authorisation for the management of moorings for boats up to fifteen metres in length at the Ribera-Poniente quay in the port of Eivissa to the company Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles, S.L. This is the most advantageous bid submitted to the tender, which aims to ensure special attention is paid to the promotion and teaching of sport, as a benchmark for social responsibility in the nautical sector.

The meeting saw a lengthy debate on the issue of excluding Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles, whose representative has been convicted of procedural fraud, from the tender. The State Attorney's Office dismissed this possibility, which is why the Board of Directors, in the absence of an alternative, has resolved the tender in view of the report of the technical committee.

The Board of Directors of the APB reached this decision after hearing the technical committee's report assessing the bids submitted to the tender, in which Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles was proposed as the most advantageous solution of all those bidding for the tender. The authorisation will last for a period of one year, which may be extended up to a maximum of three years.

Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles is committed to invest €1.9 million to install a floating dock to reduce marine agitation in the inner dock. Another €240,000 will be invested in environmental improvements, including photovoltaic panels, an aquatic drone to clean the water surface and the installation of sensors to detect hydrocarbon spills, among other initiatives.

According to the tender assessment criteria, the investment focused particularly on the safety of the facilities accounted for 20% of the total score, while the investment in environmental improvements accounted for 5%.

Social approach

The commitment of the bidders to carry out training or educational, sporting, social or cultural activities of a non-profit nature in the nearly thirty thousand square metres of total surface area of the port public domain was one of the points to be considered in the tender. This is a novel approach, since this criterion represents 30% of the score, as it constitutes a firm commitment of the port organisation to ensure that the sporting and social aspect of the facilities is enhanced.

Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles has committed itself to contribute €360,000 per year to training courses in nautical-sports activities, the organisation of regattas, as well as activities and events of this nature, in collaboration with local organisations, to help people with disabilities and those at risk of social exclusion.

The proposal by Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles maintains the current rates for mooring boats up to 8 metres in length, which represents 62% of the current fleet, while increasing them for those of greater length up to 15 metres, including both basic and transient boats, provided they are within the market price range of the Port of Eivissa. This criterion has had the greatest weight in the appraisal, with 40% of the total.

As far as the annual fee to be paid to the APB for the occupation of the space is concerned, none of the bids presented any improvement on the minimum of €334,000 plus 4% of the turnover required in the tender specifications. This criterion represents 5% of the overall score, due to the fact that the APB has not pursued economic profit as a decisive factor in choosing the winning bid.

Short-term future

As the winning bidder, Puertos y Litorales Sostenibles agrees to safeguard the rights of the current moorers of this nautical facility, as well as to maintain its current employees. Management of the facility will commence, provided that the administrative formalities arising from this agreement are satisfactorily completed, on 5 May, the date on which the current authorisation expires.

The APB is already working on drafting the terms and conditions for a new tender that will guarantee an administrative concession for a long-term period of 20 to 30 years, within the legislative framework, and which will favour investment, enable its amortisation and thus promote projects' economic viability. The APB's objective is to tender, assess and award this concession before the maximum period of three years of this authorisation expires.

The APB is improving the management of its ports with geospatial technology

In collaboration with Ersi España and Prodevelop, the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) has implemented Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to manage information on the infrastructures and port operations in its five general interest ports more efficiently. The platform integrates the port authority's ICT systems, providing a standardised and comprehensive solution for managing assets, operations, and infrastructures.

The APB handles an annual volume of more than 50,000 port calls, one of the highest in Spain. It also has one of the highest passenger traffic volumes, registering more than 2.4 million cruise passengers and six million scheduled passengers.

The rollout of the smart map systems will help to achieve an efficient and synchronised management of the data generated by port operations, concessions, tenders, asset and infrastructure management, fleets, port services, and port security, among other things. GIS also allow for real-time monitoring.

In addition, the integrated graphic management of the APB's assets will allow users to take advantage of the available information in order to optimise and streamline port processes, such as organising the public areas, recreational craft, ports of call, and supply networks.

Lighthouses of the Balearic Islands

Ships in Port

CSR and tranparency

Air quality

Port Innovation Platform

Location

Economic and social impact

Visit our lighthouses

Weather forecast

Navigation aids

Lighthouses of the Balearic Islands

Ships in Port

CSR and tranparency

Air quality

Port Innovation Platform

Location

Economic and social impact

Visit our lighthouses

Weather forecast

Navigation aids

Interesting links

Annual Report

This publication details the APB’s financial situation, the technical characteristics of its public ports and provides an overview of the institution’s activities.

Notice Boards

Link to the APB’s e-office which features the official notice boards on public information, human resources, public port land, and auctions, as well as other notices.

Sustainability Reports

This report sets out the actions carried out to create value for the APB’s stakeholders, in compliance with its commitment to transparent management.

Costumer Service

The APB has a communication channel for users to request information, make suggestions, and lodge complaints about its ports and lighthouses.

Statistics

These provide a detailed picture about the traffic using the public ports of Palma, Alcudia, Mahon, Ibiza and La Savina.

Financial Statements

Comprehensive information, including the audit report, of the most recent financial statements passed by the APB's Board of Directors, and given a favourable report by the Spanish National Audit Office.

Contact form

To make a complaint or a suggestion, or request information, follow this link

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About us

You have entered the Website of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands. This is a virtual space that puts you within reach of all the services provided by the ports of general interest, which are: Alcudia, Ibiza, Mahon, Palma and La Savina...