News APB | Ports de Balears

The protocol to build an innovative marine science and technology hub at the Old Harbour of Palma has been signed

17/05/2018

Today, together with the Office of the Vice-President of the Government and the General Secretariat of Science and Innovation of the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Competitiveness, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands signed the protocol aimed at promoting the project to build the polo marino [marine hub] at the Old Harbour of the Port of Palma. This general protocol for action aims to establish a meeting place and collaboration between different public and private institutions and bodies with a view to promoting and furthering research activities, technological development and innovation in the marine and maritime sectors. The ceremony was also attended by the Mayor of Palma, Toni Noguera the general director of innovation, Pep Lluís Pons the director of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), Eduardo Balguerías the director of the Oceanographic Centre of the Balearic Islands (COB), Salud Deudero and the director of the Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (SOCIB), Joaquim Tintorer. The signatory parties have established a framework of ongoing collaboration to provide the necessary support to the leading entities in the marine R&ampD&ampI sector, including SOCIB and COB, and in doing so bolster the sector's activity at the Port of Palma. The APB is expected to allocate the necessary space to facilitate the headquarters of SOCIB and COB at the Old Harbour of the Port of Palma. The two bodies, together with the IEO, have expressed their gratitude and positively welcome the signing of this protocol. Furthermore, in accordance with the signed protocol, special emphasis will be placed on areas of strategic interest for the Balearic Islands, such as marine science and the responsible management of the marine environment and coastline. Along the same lines, a further objective is to ensure that the entities based at the marine hub have contact with State ports with a view to enhancing their impact in society. In fact, the marine hub is expected to be the base for scientific-technical infrastructure to be used by the scientific and technological community both within Spain and abroad. In this regard, the president of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands, Joan Gual de Torrella, said that "this commitment is in line with the resolution adopted by the APB's Board of Directors to harness the Old Harbour of the Port of Palma for port and maritime activities in the broadest sense of the term". The Mayor of Palma, Toni Noguera, who wanted to attend the signing ceremony in a bid to show the city's support for the maritime industry and the knowledge economy, pointed out that "the Old Harbour covers half the space used by Parc Bit yet generates double the amount of employment", which is testament to how significant this marine hub could be in creating wealth for the city. The Secretary-General for Science and Innovation, Juan María Vázquez, used the Port of Palma as an example for other port authorities, because "it is committed to utilising its port area for oceanographic and maritime research", an area in which Spain excels internationally. Meanwhile, the Vice-President and Minister for Innovation, Research and Tourism, Bel Busquets, said that "this government's strategy is based on diversifying the economic model, and a cornerstone of this strategy is undoubtedly the knowledge economy, marine science and technology. In addition, the knowledge that is created will be harnessed by decision-making bodies and within the business sector. She went on to say that "this project will create highly-skilled jobs, which will catapult us on to the international stage". The Polo Marino [Marine Hub] is an initiative driven by the Regional Department of Innovation, Research and Tourism with the backing of the APB and the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness. The project is part of the Smart Specialisation Strategy in the Balearic Islands (RIS3), which will incorporate marine science and technology as one of the strategic foundations for diversifying the economic model. With this in mind, the strategy meets European Union objectives in terms of innovation and technological development and may receive assistance from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Meanwhile, the commitment made by the APB supports its desire to open up the Port of Palma to science and, in particular, to the people, giving it an increasingly social use that is reflected in the commissioning of this marine hub.

The APB places a trap for the suspended carbon at the port of Alcudia as an environmental measure to control the air quality

14/05/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has installed a trap to reduce the impact of carbon and dust particle emissions in the facilities at the port of Alcudia, by means of the company Transportes Marítimos de Alcudia, responsible for unloading this solid fuel at the port in Mallorca. The works carried out entailed an investment of €294,115.83 incl. VAT and provided work for around ten people over five months. The project consisted of installing a 3-metre-high vinyl canvas along the 160 metres of the upper side of the seawall, placed on a mesh support that is also made of vinyl and which acts as a windbreak, along with a system of water sprayers and water fog applicators. This therefore reduces the suspended carbon in dust and helps improve the air quality. The APB saw this opportunity to improve the coal unloading service from the diagnosis it made when implementing the environmental management system at the ports of general interest on the Balearic Islands, and approached the concession company that recently carried it out. This initiative comes as a result of one of the APB's lines of strategy that refers to the implementation of an Environmental Management System that includes the protection of the marine environment and the environment in the port surroundings and promotes continuous improvement and proper environmental performance at all port facilities.

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) reaches an agreement with the Spanish Institute of Oceanography to build the headquarters of the Oceanographic Centre of the Balearic Islands in the Old Harbour at the port of Palma

09/05/2018

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) have approved an agreement between the port authority and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) for the construction of the headquarters of the Oceanographic Centre of the Balearic Islands in the Old Harbour of the port of Palma. The land at the chosen site is currently occupied by what was the Commissary of the Naval Sector, and has been in disuse for several years now. The agreement means that the IEO will occupy a public domain land of 1,868 square metres in the port area. They will use this space to build and then run the new headquarters of the Oceanographic Centre of the Balearic Islands over the next 35 years. The works on the new headquarters of the Oceanographic Centre of the Balearic Islands will be carried out by the IEO, in accordance with the building project, which must be approved by the APB. Meanwhile, the port authority will take care of the demolition of the old commissary. From the date the agreement is signed, which is still to be determined, a period of 9 months will be set for the IEO to submit the building project for the works. The execution of the works will last 3 years from the moment the APB approves the building project. This agreement will help the APB to continue to integrate the port with the city, continuing renovation work which has already begun on the Old Harbour. This has allowed this area of the port of Palma to be connected to the Antonio Maura de Palma avenue. The works are just one in a line of recent activities of general interest carried out by the Port Authority as it seeks to integrate the port into the city.

The 7th Meeting of the Tossa de Mar Lighthouse Keepers, Family and Friends comes to Mallorca

08/05/2018

Between 28 and 30 April, the lighthouses of Cala Figuera, Cap Gros, Cap Blanc and Portopí have been visited during the 7th Meeting of Lighthouse Keepers, Family and Friends. This singular event, promoted by the Center d'Estudis Tossencs (Tossa de Mar, Catalonia), is now in its 7th year, and chose Mallorca for its 2018 edition. The idea of bringing together lighthouse keepers, their families and enthusiasts under the light of these coastal landmarks arose in 2012. Its aim was to learn about the role of the lighthouses in the 21st century, a time when their existence is at its most vulnerable, in order to highlight their great value and their magnificent history. Since then, these meetings have been held on an annual basis, visiting different lighthouses along the Mediterranean coast, such as the Columbretes Islands and Calella. On this occasion, Mallorca was the chosen destination. The poor weather last week prevented visits to the lighthouses of the Dragonera Island, Tamuntana and Llebeig. However, they were able to take in the lighthouses at Cala Figuera, in Calvià, Cap Gros, the port of Sóller, Cap Blanc, Llucmajor and Portopí, in the port of Palma. Some of those taking part in this pleasurable gathering, which puts the spotlight on the lighthouses and keepers, and their treasured maritime history, were relatives of keepers who served at some of these lighthouses.

The APB chooses Marina Asmen SL to operate the Poniente Dock moorings in the Port of Mahon

07/05/2018

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) today decided to choose the company Marina Asmen SL as the most advantageous tender in order to manage the moorings and repair shop at the Poniente Dock in the Port of Mahon by means of a temporary administrative authorisation lasting two years. Asmen’s proposal, which includes a budget of €140,590 for execution and an occupancy fee of €81,871, not including VAT, per year, was chosen as the most advantageous of the offers submitted in the public tender for management of this public domain area of the port. The chosen offer stood out in the overall assessment criteria as it offered the lowest prices among the tenders submitted. The APB recently finished construction work on 5 new piers equipped with water and electricity services at the Poniente Dock in order to provide 154 moorings for recreational vessels. 5 of these are for 15-metre-long boats, 49 for those that are 12 metres long, 22 for 10-metre-long boats and 78 moorings for boats up to 8 metres long.

The APB denies Marina Botafoch its request to extend the term and prolong its concession at the Port of Ibiza

25/04/2018

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) rejected today the request filed by the company Puerto Deportivo Botafoch, SL to extend the term and prolong the administrative concession that Marina Botafoch has at the Port of Ibiza. The APB has deemed that the actions proposed by the applicant are not in the public interest, and this opinion is also shared by the other public administrations involved. Furthermore, it considers that the proposal is not in line with the planning scheme in place at the port, nor does it comply with the consolidated text of the Law on State Ports and the Merchant Navy (TRLPEMM) as regards term extensions and prolongation of concessions. In addition, it holds that the current concession operator has committed certain breaches, including unauthorised occupancy. Marina Botafoch submitted its request for extension of the term for its facilities pursuant to transitional provision ten introduced in Law 18/2014 and for an extraordinary prolongation in virtue of article 82. 2. C1 (strategic and relevant) of the TRLPEMM.

The APB regulates the times for noise-generating activities on the deck of certain ships

19/04/2018

The Official State Gazette (BOE) has published today a resolution by the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB), which approves the port ordinance regulating the times for noise-generating activities on the decks of cruise ships and sports and recreational vessels, while they are sailing and moored at the ports of general interest it manages. The ordinance prohibits any type of activity that involves playing music or any generation of noise on the decks of certain ships between twelve midnight and nine o'clock in the morning in the ports of general interest. However, the regulation allows for an exception in cases authorised by the APB management for reasons concerning special and one-off events which, in any case, should be held at the docks furthest from the neighbourhood areas. This port ordinance applies to tourist cruise ships, sports and recreational boats and vessels. Recreational boats and vessels also include those specifically used for sea excursions and chartering. Any violations of this ordinance shall be penalised by applying the penalty system set out in Section IV of the Third Book of the Consolidated Text of the Law on State Ports and the Merchant Navy, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2011.

Ibiza welcomes the exhibition of the 8th APB Painting and Photography Contest

12/04/2018

The exhibition of the 8th Painting and Photography Contest of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) continues its journey through the Balearic Islands and is set up in the lighthouse of Ses Coves Blanques, in Sant Antoni de Portmany (Ibiza). From today, the APB will exhibit the winning art pieces and those submitted by participants in the Painting and Photography Contest on Ibiza and Formentera. The contest, now in its eighth edition, receives a high level of interest, with over 300 pieces entered from all of the islands. The challenge consisted of depicting one of the ports of general interest in the Balearic Islands or one of their lighthouses. Among the awarded entries, there is one dedicated to the port of Ibiza, specifically, the first prize in the category of Other Pictorial Techniques, entitled Storm in Dalt Vila, by Antonio Gázquez, a piece that, together with the others, will be exhibited in the Exhibition Hall of the lighthouse of Ses Coves Blanques between 12 and 28 April. The works are divided into three categories: Watercolour, Other Painting Techniques and Photography. Out of those that were entered last October, one hundred works were short-listed and exhibited in Palma at Christmas, before moving to Mahon last March where they received a positive response from the public. A cultural boost For the eighth consecutive year, the APB has sponsored this competition dedicated to the lighthouses of the Balearic Islands and to the ports of general interest of Palma, Alcudia, Mahon, Ibiza and La Savina, with the aim of capturing, by means of visual art, the popular interest that is aroused by places as ordinary and unique as ports and lighthouses and paying special tribute to them as parts of cultural heritage. Hours Lighthouse of Ses Coves Blanques C/ Alemanya, 1. Sant Antoni de Portmany From 12 to 28 April, 2018. From Tuesday to Saturday, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The APB requests access to GOB studies on the impact of cruise ships to improve environmental management at ports

10/04/2018

The president of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB), Joan Gual de Torrella, has sent a letter to the president of the Balearic Group of Ornithology (GOB), Andreu Corberà, requesting access to their environmental impact studies of cruise ships. The APB intends to use this unknown data and incorporate it, where possible, into the conclusions of several studies that the Authority currently has underway. In the letter, the APB president writes "it has been reported in the media that your organisation has published data on the power consumption of cruise ships, comparing it with the electricity usage of certain localities and the other major infrastructure in the region, Son Sant Joan Airport". Therefore, Gual asks the GOB to share "the studies that contain the data you have released". Joan Gual de Torrella uses the letter as an opportunity to explain the actions that the APB Quality and Innovation Department has been carrying out for several months to obtain as many indicators as possible with a view to implementing both preventive and corrective measures against the environmental impact of port activity. "A complex task given that the wide range of factors and stakeholders that are simultaneously involved must be coordinated in order to obtain the results required" Gual claims. More specifically, he is referring to the study that the APB is carrying out in conjunction with the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) to measure the air and noise pollution at the Port of Palma. It involves using a network of sensors installed around the port to help analyse the environmental impact caused by port activity. The results of this study will be determined this summer once all the indicators and acoustic and pollution samples from one full year have been collected. Gual ends his letter stating that the incorporation of this data into current APB studies will boost "progress towards identifying the best environmental management solutions possible to implement at the port".

The APB puts into operation the new Harbour Station No. 6 at the Port of Palma

09/04/2018

Yesterday, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) put the new Harbour Station No. 6, located on the platform attached to the western dock at the Port of Palma, into operation. The new infrastructure has replaced the previous provisional canopy, the size of which was insufficient to meet quality and good service guarantees for cruise ships of over 300 metres in length. The new Harbour Station No. 6 comprises a building with 9,280 m2 of useful surface area and some covered exterior spaces measuring 3,575 m2 which, together with the reorganisation of the annexed esplanade, facilitates the operations of those ships, whether they use the Port of Palma as a base or as a mere port of call. Furthermore, with this new infrastructure, the APB looks to guarantee the safety and comfort of its users, providing the building with all the required passenger services and commodities, such as wide spaces for the delivery and collection of luggage, embarking and disembarking, and vehicle parking. The project was drawn up by the company JG Ingenieros, while the works were undertaken by a joint venture between OHL and VOPSA. The works were carried out in 16 months while the former harbour station, covering 2,500 m2, continued to partially operate so as to assist all stopovers during the works. The investment amount was around 12.4 million euros and 67 different companies participated in the works with an average of 60 employees working during the first phase of the works and 100 during the second. On occasions, 160 employees were working at the same time on the works. The opening of the new Harbour Station coincided yesterday with the arrival into Palma for the first time of the Symphony of the Seas, a new Royal Caribbean ship, considered to be the world's biggest.

The APB puts running a bar at La Mola Lighthouse in Formentera out to tender

23/03/2018

In the last Board of Directors meeting, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) approved the specifications and conditions that are to govern the public tender to run, under the administrative concession system, the bar-cafeteria-restaurant in the La Mola Lighthouse on the island of Formentera. The aim of this tender is to select the most cost-effective proposal to grant an administrative concession to run premises with 872 m2 of surface area located in the La Mola Lighthouse. It is a public domain for ports comprising two buildings. The premises will be run by means of an administrative concession to occupy the public domain and authorise the supply of commercial bar-cafeteria-restaurant services (compulsory provision) as well as other optional services to be proposed by the bidder and approved by the APB. The annual occupancy fee to be outbid by the tenderer is €17,219.58 excl. VAT and the maximum term for the concession is 12 years.

The APB to launch a tender process for urban development ideas for the Contramuelle-Mollet at the Port of Palma

23/03/2018

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) is to launch a tender process for remodelling ideas for the Contramuelle-Mollet area at the Port of Palma. The aim of this tender is to select a proposal for the redesign of this port area, following the dynamic initiative already underway by the APB to integrate the port into the city for the benefit of locals and tourists. Joan Gual de Torrella, the president of the APB, announced the call for tenders as the demolition works on two buildings located in the Contramuelle-Mollet area at the Port of Palma got under way. This action will help to free up space in the area and to provide the port with open public spaces, following the ‘Port-City’ model sought by many renowned cities. It is also a model that the APB puts into practice at all of the ports of general interest that it manages. Today, the company Construcciones y Desmontes Ribera Navarra S.A. began tearing down the two buildings using demolition shears. The works, which will last 4 months, have a budget of 328,000 euros. During the demolition process, the debris material will be separated for recycling and the construction material will be reused as filling at the Port of Palma. Measures have been taken to mitigate the situation of the suspended dust caused by the works. These measures include the installation of a large containment curtain and the use of water sprayed with hoses. Traffic will be controlled while the works are ongoing in order to reduce as much as possible any inconvenience for port users. Tender for ideas The call for ideas covers the expansion of green areas by removing buildings in favour of open spaces. The fishing zone will remain during the reorganisation process. Conversely, the Astilleros de Mallorca concession will be transferred to another location at the Port of Palma. The requirement that projects must consider the possible location of a future marine museum in the industrial space is among the tender requirements. The urban area to develop stretches from the Pesquero bar to the mouth of Sa Riera. The aim of this action is to boost, on the one hand, the project that the APB has already put out to tender corresponding to the car park at the Lonja Dock and, on the other, the Seafront promenade remodelling project, promoted by the Council of Palma in collaboration with the Port Authority. Furthermore, in the project, it must be taken into consideration that the Club de Mar concession will be undertaken at the end of the Seafront promenade. “It entails a radical change in the port area,” said Gual, who explained that the demolition is just the beginning of what will be a full reorganisation of the Seafront promenade. He also said: “citizens will enjoy the best space Palma has to offer, from the Viejo Dock to Portopí,” not forgetting the old town and the cathedral.