News APB | Ports de Balears

Port Police have new uniforms

19/01/2009

Today at the Port of Palma, the PAB presented new uniforms to the Port Authority Police, the same day that they entered in force in the five ports that it manages: Palma, Alcudia, Ibiza, Mahon and La Savina. The chairman of the PAB, Francesc Triay, was the person in charge presenting the new uniforms to the press, in a ceremony held this morning at the headquarters of the PAB in the port of Palma. He was accompanied by the director of the Port Association, Angel Matias, the chief of the Division of Services and Police, Jose Maria Felipe and the head of the Human Resources Division, Joan Ginard. The move to change the uniforms of the officers of the Port Police was motivated by the wish to modernize the image of the PAB, as well as to fulfil the request of the Ports of the State to differentiate the figure of the Port Police from the rest of security forces operating in the area of port domain. Members of the Port Police will also, as of today, carry a new individual credential that verifies them as Agents of the Port Administration. Altogether, in the ports of the PAB, there are approximately 140 agents, a number that increases to about 180 in high season with the addition of temporary employees. The presence of female officers is about 13 per cent. The Port of Palma has 79 agents of the PAB, Ibiza 27, Mahon 21, Alcudia 6 and Savina 9

The APB plans to invest over 45 million euros in 2009

18/12/2008

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (PAB) approved today, at its last meeting of the year, the Business Plan for 2009. The plan envisages an investment of more than forty-five million euros in five major ports managed by the PAB in the Balearic archipelago. Among the items detailed in the meeting was the 4.8 million euros destined for the construction of the new maritime station at the Port of Alcudia, which is expected to become operational next summer.The Port of Palma has a budget of 18.1 million euros for work to be carried out in 2009. This includes the expansion of the Poniente Docks for ships of great length, with a budget of twelve million euros, accompanied by an allocation of 1.1 million euros for dredging in the area. Over three million euros will be invested in the division of expropriation and land acquisition of the Port of Mahon with an endowment of one million euros for the dredging of the area near the Naval Station and Cos Nou. Meanwhile, in the Port of Ibiza, an initial investment of 3.7 billion euros is anticipated for the construction of the esplanade and commercial piers sheltered by the Botafoc dock.As for general investment, an allocation of eight million euros has been approved for the installation of public information systems, Wi-Fi networks and video-conference rooms in all ports of the APB.

The port of Palma has a new Travel Lift of up to 700 T

16/10/2008

As of this week, the port of Palma has a new travel lift for boats of up to 700 tonnes and 60 meters in length, which consolidates the port as a strategic point in the Mediterranean in the sector of superyacht repairs. The travel lift is located in the dry dock area of the Commercial Dock (Muelle Comercial) in the port of Palma. It is managed by the company STP and has been installed by the Italian firm Ascom.The port of Palma has more than 105,000 square meters allocated to the maintenance and repair of boats of up to 90 meters in length. Close to nine hundred companies of the sector are working in its facilities, which include painters, carpenters, decorators, electricians, as well as suppliers of nautical products

Seven cruise ships coincide in Palma for the first time

10/10/2008

The Port of Palma has registered for the first time the simultaneous stopovers of seven cruise ships, which coincided for several hours today in the bay of the capital of Majorca. These were the ships Wind Surf, Aidacara, Aidadiva, Thomson Spirit, Insignia, Grand Celebration and Oriana, which carried on board a total of more than eight thousand five hundred passengers. In fact, the Port of Palma had already registered the presence of seven tourist cruises on the same day, but never all at the same time. On this occasion, from eight o'clock in the morning until one in the afternoon on Friday, all seven ships remained moored at the pier.

Trapsayates to operate berths of Levante Dock, Maó

02/10/2008

The Board of Directors of the PABhas decided to elect the company Trapsayates S.L. as the most advantageous choice to for the tender to manage the moorings of the piers of Levante in the Port of Maó, according to the proposal of the Technical Committee responsible for reporting on the bids submitted to the competition. The proposal of Trapsayates S.L. offers an annual fee of 600,000 euros, an investment for the improvement and expansion of facilities of 2.8 million and a concession period of 14 years and ten months. The chairman of the PAB, Francesc Triay, proposed to the Board of Directors in regular session meeting this morning, to award the tender to the company, in accordance with the proposal of the Technical Commission.For the evaluation of bids, the Technical Commission implemented the specification bases adopted on September 30, 2003 by the Board of Directors of the PAB, which assess and weigh the following factors: the annual fee, the project plan, spending on promotion of nautical sports, a thorough economic survey, the proposed rates, the contract period, the organization of facilities and services and the status of the bidder with regard to promoting nautical sports. In the competition the bids of the businesses Ocibar SL, Ribera del Puerto SL and Maritime Club of Mahon were also considered. The latter bidder had filed an appeal to PAB seeking that the contest be declared void. However, the Board of Directors of the PAB rejected that appeal on the basis of three legal reports which upheld the validity of the contest. These reports were prepared by the Secretariat of the PAB, the State Bar and a third external source.

The Port of Palma meets European safety standards

29/09/2008

The first week of September a group of members of the European Commission visited the Port of Palma to evaluate the degree of implementation of the EU legislation on safety for the transport of people and goods in ports (EEC 65/2004) and also of Royal Decree 1617/2007. This norm appears in Chapter XI of the international agreement SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). After four days of analysis of security plans, installations and operations in the Port of Palma, the experts reported that the European standards were being followed correctly and that no significant improvements were required.

Marc Pons appointed new member of board of directors

26/09/2008

The Government of the Balearic Islands has appointed today, in the governing council to the president of the Island Council of Minorca, Marc Pons, as a new member of the board of the Port Authority of Balearic Islands (PAB), in place of Joana Barceló, current counsellor for the Department of Labour and Training of the autonomous executive. Marc Pons has been summoned by the PAB to attend the next meeting of the board of directors to be held October 2 in Palma de Mallorca, at which time the bids for the moorings at the Levante dock in the Port of Mahon will be settled.

Granted the operation of three new cement silos in Alcudia

25/09/2008

The technical committee of the PAB, which is responsible for reporting on the bids submitted to public tender for the operation of a center for storage and distribution of cement in the Ribera dock at the Port of Alcudia, has accepted the bid from the company Reunides Sitges, SL. The board of the PAB voted in favour of the tender proposed by the chairman of the PAB, Francesc Triay, in accordance with the assessment made by the technical committee. Sitges Reunides has offered, in their bid, to take over the installation and operation of three new cement storage silos for fourteen years, which are expected to turn over at least 120,000 tons of cement annually.

Cruise companies invited by the PAB visit Balearic Islands

17/09/2008

The PAB and the Spanish Tourist Office in Miami organized a familiarization trip (fam trip) for the Balearic Islands to introduce the main cruise companies to the tourist attractions of the islands. From the 12th to the16th of September they toured Ibiza, Formentera, Majorca and Minorca and visited, in addition to the ports of the PAB, Dalt Vila of Ibiza, Sant Antoni, Santa Eulària, the Mola Formentera, the historic center of Palma, the Serra de Tramuntana, Alcudia, Mahon and Cuitadella. The companies that participatedwere Carnival Cruises, Holland America Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Wind Star Cruises. Those involved in organizing the trip were the four island councils, the Tourist Board, the Chamber of Commerce of Ibiza and Formentera, the Destí Foundation of Minorca and the municipalities where the visits took place. This initiative is part of the policy for the promotion of foreign tourism which is being carried out by the PAB and is expanding through its multiple contacts at the International Cruise Fair of Miami.

The APB plans to invest 116 million in construction in the Port of Ibiza

05/09/2008

The PAB is forecast to invest 116 million euros until beyond 2012 in the completion of the new terminal for cargo and passengers projected for the Port of Ibiza. The Business Plan for the PAB has approved an estimated investment of 115.7 million euros in construction in the Port of Ibiza. The projects include the construction of the esplanade and the two quays, with a forecast budget of 70 million. The work has an estimated duration of 24 months. Subsequent to the creation of the surface at Botafoc, the PAB plans to build a regular line passenger terminal, with an estimated budget of 10.8 million euros. The Business Plan for the PAB has also projected an estimated investment of 16 million euros in improving the docks neighbouring the district of Ibiza Marina, with the construction of a new passenger terminal for traffic between the islands of Ibiza and Formentera

Cruise Companies visiting the Balearic Islands on a promotional trip

12/08/2008

The PAB has organized a familiarization trip (Fam Trip), in collaboration with the Spanish Tourist Office in Miami, to the ports of Palma, Mahon, Ibiza and La Savina, with the aim of raising awareness among major international cruise companies of new attractions in the Balearic Islands as a tourist destination. Apart from getting to know the port facilities and projects that the PAB has underway to enhance the cruise traffic in each of its ports, the delegation will be taken on tours through the various islands and will hear first-person accounts of new tourist attractions in the Balearic Islands. Representatives of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland Americas Line, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Windstars Cruises, Majestic Americas Line, Celebrity Cruises and Pullmantur will visit the islands of Ibiza and Formentera on the 12th, 13th and 14th of September, Majorca on the 15th and will complete its journey on September 16th in Minorca

6'5 million in infrastructure at the port of Palma

06/08/2008

The PAB has recently completed several projects in the Port of Palma with an overall investment of more than six and a half million euros and that consisted mainly of improvements to port infrastructures for cruise traffic and transport of cargo and passengers.Among the highlights was the new image of the cruise ship boarding lounge of Dique del Oeste. With a budget of close to 340,000 euros, it promotes the islands as a tourist destination with large photographs and also facilitates access for passengers to luggage check-in and public transport services.At Passenger Terminal No. 1 a new mobile walkway was installed, budgeted at about 600,000 euros, to facilitate direct embarkation to ships. At the same time, three new berths were built worth 1,200,000 euros at the far end of the docks of Poniente del Norte y Sur, allowing the extension of their mooring lines.With a budget of nearly three million euros, they have expanded the loading and unloading zones at the Commercial Docks from 20.5 meters to 40 meters. And in improvements to services of regular passenger lines, 173,000 euros have been invested in the repair of the pre-embarkation parking area located between terminals 2 and 3.Finally, with an allocation of about one and a half million euros, the PAB has improved the Services Building, modernizing and facilitating public access to the port police station and other offices, and rehabilitating the old building popularly known as "la Lavendaria de la Tras", to locate there workshops of the PAB.