Noticias APB | Ports de Balears

95% of cruise passengers would recommend the Balearic Islands as a holiday destination

11/11/2017

95% of cruise tourists would recommend the Balearic Islands as a holiday destination. This information, which is at its peak in the port of Alcudia (97.4%), is taken from a study led by the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) to assess the degree of satisfaction of the clients and users of the ports it controls, as well as establishing the amount of money generated by cruise ship tourism in 2016. This study, carried out by the Balearic Institute of Advanced Social Studies, was performed throughout 2016 using a sample of 2,195 face-to-face interviews. The number of tourists interviewed who had chosen to return to the Balearic Islands for their holidays (79.4% of tourists interviewed), provides further proof of the high level of satisfaction of passengers who have visited Palma, Alcudia, Mahon, Ibiza and La Savina over the past year. Average spending per tourist Research into the average amount of money spent at the destination shows that each visitor to the Balearic Islands spends €72.40. Tourists spend the most amount of money in Ibiza (€80.70 per day). This is followed by Mahon (€73.90 per day), Palma (€72.50 per day) and Alcudia (€66.60 per day). For cruise ships which use Palma as a base, the average expenditure per passenger rises to€154. In this case, accommodation and tourist establishments are the main beneficiaries as passengers either stay the night before they embark or the night after the cruise finishes (€87.81). Shops attract the highest amount of expenditure from tourists in the Balearic Islands, followed by restaurants and guided tours. The latter is particularly important on the island of Menorca, where they are in high demand due to their heritage and archaeological interest. 33.8% of those surveyed went on an excursion in Mahon, compared to 4.1% in Ibiza and 9.9% in Palma. The fact that these excursions are so successful on this island highlights Menorca as hugely attractive destination for tourists on cruise liners which visit the port of Mahon. The same study showed that 57.3% of those surveyed feels that the time they spend on land, just over four and half hours, is not enough to do all they want. Another interesting factor to consider is the expenditure by the crews of these ships. These are made up of workers and staff of the cruise liners, who also take advantage of each stop to do some shopping. The study shows this amount to be €76.20 a day. If you would like to know more, see the document attached to this news item.

Joan Gual de Torrella proposes working in conjunction with the City Council to keep the Bay of Palma clean to the Regional Minister of the Environment

10/11/2017

The president of the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB), Joan Gual de Torrella, has written to the Regional Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries, Vicenç Vidal, to propose co-ordinating efforts with the City authorities in order to keep the Bay of Palma clean. In response to recent complaints about the presence of waste and debris along the Palma coastline, the president of the APB’s proposal to the Regional Minister is for action that “will have a more preventive effect, although I am sure that your own technical teams, together perhaps with outside experts, are able to offer suitable assessment and solutions to this problem, which has become the object of sizeable public outcry”- Gual acknowledges. In his letter, Gual points out that the APB already undertakes clean-up operations of the inner port waters with an annual collection rate of 185 cubic metres of waste “generated both by business inherent to the Port and by drain channels, sewage pipes or garbage coming from the open sea”. The president of the APB concludes in his letter, a copy of which has also been sent to the Mayor of Palma, Antoni Noguera, that “enjoyment of the city of Palma along the beachfront promenade with its unobstructed views must be considered an absolute priority for any of the three administrations”.

Close collaboration between the administration and business sector – key to the success of the 2017 cruise season in Ibiza

03/11/2017

Highlights of the overall success of the 2017 cruise season in Ibiza were the absence of overcrowding on the days with the highest number of tourists and the tight co-ordination that exists between the Ibiza Local Council, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands, and all agents involved in the cruise industry. These are some of the main conclusions reached this week following the end-of-season meeting with stakeholders held at the Council’s head offices and which marks what is to date the most successful cruise season at the port of Ibiza on record. Those achievements include strengthening awareness to prevent disruptive noise caused by parties on certain cruises and organising proper and efficient distribution of guide maps. The meeting was attended by all agents directly or indirectly connected to the cruise industry in Ibiza, such as the Harbour Master, ship agents, excursion agencies, tourist guides, transportation agents, retailers and law enforcement agencies such as the National Police and Civil Guard, among others. Looking ahead to the challenges facing the sector in the 2018 season, some of the issues to be addressed are the scarcity of taxis in the port area, the need for improved signage for passengers who have not signed up for an on-shore excursion, greater availability of tourist guides, and improved communications with cruise lines. Record season in number of port calls and visiting passengers The most significant data reveal a total of 184 calls at the port of Ibiza by cruise vessels this season, a figure above the 137 that were recorded in 2016 and which is the highest in the history of this port. Likewise, the 343,813 passengers that passed through the port represent another record-breaking figure. The maximum number of cruise vessels the port was able to host simultaneously at any point last season was 4, a situation that occurred twice, on the 6th July and 9th August. For the 2018 season, the number of calls at port is expected to drop slightly to 175, nevertheless still the second best figure after 2017. As far as the number of passengers is concerned, the maximum number is expected to amount to 310,000. The Port of Ibiza continues to offer bonuses designed to encourage cruise vessels to call in the low season, after 12 noon and to repeat at any of the other ports in the Balearic Islands. Good organisation scheme This meeting between the public administration and business was first held last May in order to co-ordinate all activities in the sector and prepare for the forthcoming season. This time, the aim of the meeting was to take stock and analyse data about the number of calls and passengers during the summer months and to exchange information and views in preparation for the 2018 season.

Port Authority of the Balearic Islands to attend the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

02/11/2017

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) is planning to attend the prestigious Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in Florida, to be held between the 1st and 5th November 2017, as a means of promoting the nautical sector and the Palma International Boat Show in the US. The aim of the APB’s presence in Fort Lauderdale is to attract more operations for vessels that spend the winter season in the Caribbean and the summer in the Mediterranean, to encourage them to choose Balearic Islands ports to have their vessels maintained and repaired. In addition, the stand in Fort Lauderdale will also contain promotional material for the next edition of the Palma International Boat Show, in an attempt to further its aspirations to become the foremost nautical showcase in the Mediterranean. The aim is to extend awareness of the Palma event among potential exhibitors and professional visitors. The exhibition stand will be shared between the APB, the Institute of Business Innovation (IDI), Balearic Yacht Destination (BYD) and the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca. The Florida boat show is considered one of the most important international marketplaces for the boating and yachting sector. The announcement was made this morning at a press conference at the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca. The conference was attended by representatives from all the institutions involved: the president of the Balearic Islands Port Authority, Joan Gual de Torrella the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca, José Luis Rosas the manager of Astilleros de Mallorca, Diego Colón de Carvajal, representing the group of companies attending the fair under the initiative of the Balearic Yacht Destination and the Director General of Industry Policies, Manel Porras. The regional Minister of Labour, Industry and Trade, Iago Negueruela, stressed that the visit to Fort Lauderdale represents the first action in promoting the boating and yachting industry abroad to be carried out by a public-private partnership made up of the BYD group of specialist companies, the Government of the Balearic Islands, the APB and the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca. It is important to recall that the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is the most prominent recreational vessel showroom in the US and represents the gateway for large yachts to access the American market. More than 1,200 vessels are on show in three million square metres of exhibition halls and 100,000 people are estimated to visit the FL boat show every year.

The APB will start off a pilot trial for direct electrical communication between ships and the port

26/10/2017

In 2018, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) will develop a pilot trial which will allow for direct electrical communication between the port of Palma and the ships which have this device fitted. This trial is possible thanks to the collaboration of the Trasmediterranea shipping line, which will adapt its ship Dimonios for this purpose, and the electrification of one dock of the port in Palma by the APB. This electrical connection with the shore is known as cold ironing. Among other benefits, this system helps reduce toxic emissions in the air in port areas and noise pollution, promoting the use of renewable energy. The APB has been working on this project since 2012. The port body will invest 1 million euros in this project, 20% of which will come from the European investment fund. This work is scheduled to start in 2018. This has been one of the proposals presented at the follow-up meeting for the European project ‘OPS Master Plan for Spanish Ports’ which is being held today at the APB headquarters at the port of Palma. Representatives from the University of Cadiz and the Technical University of Madrid have been in attendance, together with members of the Port Authorities of Tenerife, Las Palmas, Barcelona, and Pasaia, among others.

The APB has collected 185 m³ of waste over the last year in the port of Palma

26/10/2017

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has collected over the last year 185 cubic metres of waste in Zone I of the waters in the port of Palma, compared to 298 cubic metres over the same period the year before. This data shows that the waste removed from the sea between July 2016 and July 2017 has been 38% less than that collected during the same period between 2015 and 2016. In both cases, the most common materials removed from the sea have been plastic and wood (108 m³ of plastic and 47 m³ wood in 2017 and 165 m³ plastic and 72 m³ wood in 2016). The months which produce the greatest amount of waste recorded were August in 2016 (33.2 m³) and June in 2017 (31.3 m³). In addition to the daily removal of waste and solid and floating material, the cleaning work in Zone I of the port of Palma involves the treatment of the waste removed and its classification into containers and plastic, hazardous material, paper and cardboard, glass, organic waste, wood and bulky items, hydrocarbons and others. The APB has a service which allows a vessel with a net device integrated on its bow to perform cleaning work, collecting floating material in the most efficient way. It makes 130 trips every year (every working day), working for 8 to 10 hours at a time. In addition, in the event of an emergency, the vessel performs additional monitoring and assistance services. External Agents For the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB), keeping the water in the ports it manages in good condition continues to be among its top priorities. At present, the Balearic Centre of Applied Biology (CBBA) is responsible for monitoring and controlling the water quality in the 5 ports of general interest in the Balearic Islands. This initiative fulfils Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Union which requires member states to monitor the condition of the water in each river basin. Previous studies indicate that the quality of the water in the ports managed by the APB are ideal and fulfil the European directives, and also that the vast majority of polluting agents come from dirt on the streets of towns, dragged along by rain towards torrents creating what is known as anoxic mud, which sinks and ends up settling at the bottom of the ports. The key aim of this directive is to protect the surface water in estuaries, coasts and groundwater throughout the whole European Union in order to promote sustainable consumption of the resource and ensure improvement in aquatic ecosystems. Spanish ports, together with all other ports in the EU, have been working on introducing environmental requirements with regards to port management since the beginning of the 1990s. The result is ROM 5.1 on the Quality of coastal waters in Port Areas, a regulation that the APB applies and hands over to the CBBA. In this way, ports can contribute to the sustainability of transport by reducing the environmental impacts on ports, implementing improved prevention, control and management of environmental risks and, ultimately, making it easier for ports to meet the requirements of environmental legislation.

The Public Prosecution Office closes the file on the complaint by the GOB in relation to the expansion works on the Poniente Dock of the Port of Palma

25/10/2017

The Public Prosecution Office of the Balearic Islands has closed the file on the complaint by the Balearic Group of Ornithology (GOB) against the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) with regards to the dumping of building waste from the works on the Poniente (Western) Dock of the Port of Palma, as it considers that the facts reported do not constitute a criminal offence. The public prosecutor ruled that it had not been possible to state that as a result of "the use of eco-aggregate in the esplanade expansion works on the Poniente Dock of the Port of Palma, negative effects have been noticed regarding the quality of the water". The GOB filed the complaint against the APB last summer for dumping building waste from the expansion works on the Poniente Dock of the Port of Palma and requested that the Public Prosecution Office investigate the matter due to a potential environmental impact. The State Legal Service issued a report on 27 July in which it clearly stated that the APB had correctly processed this project, which is regulated by state-level legislation. Furthermore, it upheld that these works should not be subject to an environmental impact assessment, as this is not envisaged under the Environmental Assessment Act. The APB upheld that the environmental procedures followed were correct, the analyses show that eco-aggregate is not hazardous waste and that it cannot be stated that the use of this material in the esplanade expansion works on the Poniente Dock of the Port of Palma has led to negative effects on the quality of the water. Therefore, the Public Prosecution Office concludes by ruling in favour of the APB and proceeds to close the file on the proceedings as it considers that the facts do not constitute a criminal offence. Service improvement The mooring areas at the Poniente and Pelaires docks at the Port of Palma share cruise ship and ferry traffic and, therefore, it has become evident that the increase in traffic requires more land operational surface area than that currently available, especially given situations where regular cruise ships and ferries arrive at the same time. The need to design the esplanade expansion works on the Poniente Norte Dock of the Port of Palma arose in order to improve the effectiveness and service levels for cruise ships and ferries. The proposed solution led to the works getting underway in February 2017 to create a new esplanade surface area measuring 36,232 m2, awarded to the joint venture comprising FCC Construcción and Amer e Hijos for 21 million euros and with a completion term of 34 months.

The future Club de Mar enables fence-free Promenade in Palma

18/10/2017

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) today approved the extension of the Club de Mar concession in the port of Palma for a period of 24 years from 2019, when the current concession expires. This will entail capital investments of around €50 million by the Club de Mar, as well as an updated annual fee of around €10 million for use and exploitation of this port domain. The land area to be occupied by the marina will remain at the 21,000 square metres that it currently operates, although the water surface area will be increased slightly to 197,000 square metres, bringing the total occupation of public port domains to 218,000 square metres. Fence-free As a result of this approval, the future Club de Mar will provide a brand new appearance for the waterfront in Palma thanks to the fencing along the promenade being removed. That way, the area will become a more open space for the general public, thus enhancing the APB’s idea of integrating its ports into areas for citizens to enjoy. In addition, this project envisages the construction of a public indoor car park to improve accessibility for people who want to make use of this new area as it opens up to the city. The building work is expected to start in 2018.

The exhibition ''An eye in the sky 1939-1945. The strategic significance of Balearic Island Ports during World War II’ arrives at the UIB

18/10/2017

Last stop for the exhibition ''An eye in the sky 1939-1945. The strategic significance of Balearic Island Ports during World War II", which is set up on the campus of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) until 17 November. Made up of 16 panels of untouched photographs taken from between 1941 and 1945, the exhibition examines the strategic role played by our ports during the years of conflict. The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) in conjunction with lecturers from the Department of Geography at the UIB have recovered the photographic and documentary material on operations carried out during World War II and have made it available to the public through this exhibition. It first opened its doors to the public last May in the old APB headquarters. It then moved around the ports of Alcudia, Mahon, Ibiza and La Savina before ending its journey at the UIB where it can be visited until 17 November in the hall of the Ramon Llull building of the university campus in Palma. The unveiling of the exhibition, which took place this morning, was attended by Dr. Joana Maria Petrus, professor and sub-director of the Department of Geography Jorge Martín, innovation and quality manager of the APB Dr. Miquel Deyà, dean of the School of Philosophy and Arts and Dr. Llorenç Huguet, dean of the UIB. More information: http://diari.uib.es/arxiu/La-UIB-acoge-la-exposicion-Vigilats-des-del-cel..cid502762

New Harbour Station No.6 at the West Dock in partial operation as of today

10/10/2017

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has partially commissioned the new Harbour Station No.6 today. Located at the West Dock, this facility is designed to improve the quality of service offered to passengers on cruise ships measuring more than 300 metres in length. The first ship to use the new facilities was the Mein Schiff 3,which was able to dock at 4 am with complete normality. It is a 3,000 m2 space that will operate provisionally until 31 March, at which point the new marine terminal is expected to fully enter into service. The OHL-VOPSA Joint Venture behind this project is working six days a week to meet commitments made to the APB and to guarantee the entry into service of safe and comfortable facilities at the Port of Palma during months in which there is a greater influx of cruise ships. The works on the new marine terminal no. 6 have a budget of 12 million euros and will provide jobs to between 50 and 60 people. The project includes the expansion of the harbour station, which will go from occupying 2,500 m2 to having an estimated surface area of 10,000 m2. Furthermore, with a view to maximise the safety conditions of embarking and disembarking, the APB is considering reorganising the uses of the esplanade annexed to this particular dock.

Gual announces that the first stage of the La Savina Port Beautification Plan will begin in November

09/10/2017

Today, the president of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB), Joan Gual de Torrella, met with the President of Formentera Island Council, Jaume Ferrer at the Casa del Mar building at the La Savina Port. The meeting was also attended by advisor to the President and regional councillor for infrastructure, Rafael González, among other authorities, as well as technical staff from both administrations. Gual de Torrella announced that the first stage of the La Savina Port Beautification Plan will get underway in November, and these works will be complete before the start of the season. The first stage comprises the upgrade and improvement of the parking area located to the north of the La Savina Port, and will optimise the flow of passengers and vehicles that access the Harbour Station. Furthermore, the works also entail improving the roads and pedestrian zones in the service area of the port. The tender budget is €599,811 (excluding VAT). The president of the port authority also added that the improvement works of the fisherman's wharf as well as the sea wall upgrade and paving of the wharf will begin on the same dates. Two projects with a tender budget of €457,154 and €137,187, respectively. Meanwhile, Gual announced that November 2018 will see the start of the second stage of the port's beautification plan, which includes works on the promenade. The President of Formentera Island Council expressed his satisfaction that works on the port will begin in November and will be ready in time for the next season, as requested by the Council. Jaume Ferrer also thanked the APB for reaching an agreement with the Council with regard to the works to be carried out at the port, "in turn supporting the vision that both the institution and locals have of La Savina as well as our own island model".

The APB begins works on Sant Antoni and Ses Figuerasses docks at the Port of Mahon

29/09/2017

This week, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) starts the upgrading and improvement works on the Sant Antoni and Ses Figuerasses docks at the Port of Mahon. The works at the Sant Antoni dock will entail reconstructing the old site with the aim of putting it to use as a public loading dock. A dry dock ramp for small boats will be built alongside this dock. Meanwhile, works to be carried out at Ses Figuerasses will consist of demolishing the remains of the current dock and building another with similar characteristics in an attempt to continue offering mooring services before its collapse. The works are expected to begin this week upon approval of the health and safety plan. The budget is €175,674.99 and the company awarded the contract is Antonio y Diego, S.A. Works are expected to be completed in 5 months and between 7 and 10 people have been employed directly.