News APB | Ports de Balears

Tender put out to construct a dolphin at the Port of Maó for large cruise vessels

25/07/2013

The APB has put out a public tender to construct a dolphin to extend the Passenger Quay’s Poniente berth at the Port of Maó so as to adapt the port’s facilities to the needs of the new cruise vessels that call at the Minorcan capital. The current berthing face of the Passenger Quay extension is approximately 176 metres long. This is not long enough for this type of vessels, given that the cruise ships scheduled to berth on this quay are over 200 metres long. This means that a considerable part of the vessels berthed there do not rest against the quay. In the light of this, the APB has planned the construction of a dolphin on this quay to improve berthing conditions, via a public tender for the work to extend the Passenger Quay’s Poniente berth at the Port of Maó. The budget for this improvement is €589,266.25.

Marina sa Riba set to manage the moorings for megayachts over 60 metres long at the Port of Ibiza

24/07/2013

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has granted a temporary occupancy authorisation for the Levante Quay at the Port of Ibiza to the company Marina sa Riba, S.L. to manage moorings for yachts over 60 metres long. The authorisation has been granted for twelve months, which can be extended for a further year at most, until the public tender to grant a concession for these port spaces, which will be put out some time in the future, is resolved. Marina sa Riba was rated as the best proposal of the three companies that put in for the tender which was called last May by the APB’s Board of Directors. The aim of the tender is to strengthen the Port of Ibiza’s position in the megayacht market, and thus cater for existing demand on the island for large vessel moorings. With a total fee offered of €601,000 per year, and an investment proposal of approximately €500,000 in removable facilities, Marina sa Riba now manages, as of today, a surface area of over 24,000 m2, of which more than 22,000 m2 correspond to water surface. Large yachts are now able to berth at the Port of Ibiza’s Levante Dock thanks to the transfer of commercial port operations located in this area of the Port to the new Botafoc Quays which took place at the beginning of July.

The Port of Ibiza restricts parking at the Marina to promote pedestrianisation

05/07/2013

The Port of Ibiza is to introduce paid parking at the Marina to revitalise the area and promote pedestrianisation after reaching an agreement with the Town Council and taking into account the opinion and needs of residents and traders. Car park access will be controlled by an automatic barrier system which will subsequently allow cars to exit after they have paid the corresponding fee based on the time they have used the car park. In agreement with the Ibiza Town Council, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has approved tariffs of €1.20 per hour in low season and €2.40 per hour during the months of June, July, August and September. The APB-managed car park will have around one hundred spaces and will come into service during the month of July when the barriers and ticket machines are ready. Residents and traders Marina residents, defined by the Council according to the criteria established by the town hall, will be charged a special rate which will be the same as the tariff applied to residents in the town’s controlled parking zones. The APB will regulate the right to these special rates according to the resident census validated by the Town Council. In turn, traders and distributors registered by the APB will be given a certain amount of time without charge to unload and load goods to supply the Marina’s businesses. This scheme aims to increase vehicle turnover in a unique area linking the port and the town which this week ceased to handle domestic maritime traffic. This traffic has now been moved to the Botafoc Quays. After the removal of the Perspex fencing that separated the restricted area of the port from the town thus opening up pedestrian access to the sea, the APB has allocated one of the traffic lanes for parking to increase the amount of space solely for pedestrians on the quayside.

The Port of Ibiza’s Botafoc Quays come into service for domestic traffic

01/07/2013

The Port of Ibiza’s new Botafoc Quays came into service today to handle goods vehicles and regular ferry passenger traffic thus complying with the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands’ (APB) commitment to divert heavy port vehicle traffic away from the city centre on 1st July. At 10.30am, passengers on the Baleària line vessel Federico García Lorca coming from Palma, were the first to use the Botafoc Quays’ facilities. The new port facility has a temporary passenger terminal which will provide services for operators and users until the permanent terminal has been built. The Botafoc Quays have a bus service, coach stops, taxi ranks and a pleasure boat service which connects the city centre with this new port area. Fencing removed Implementation of the new quays has immediately freed the Marina area of heavy port vehicle traffic which was one of the main objectives of moving port activities to the Botafoc Quays as well as providing Port of Ibiza users with modern, comfortable, safe facilities. As a result, work began first thing this morning to remove the Perspex fencing which restricted access to the port’s premises for safety reasons, thus opening up pedestrian access to the quayside. In his blog, José Mª Urrutia, the APB Chairman, assured that “the first of July 2013 is a date which will become a milestone in the Port of Ibiza’s history”. According to Urrutia, when referring to the diversion of port traffic away from the Marina, “this project was urgent and is symbolised today with the long awaited removal of the Perspex fencing”. Urrutia also justified the move to the Botafoc Quays, whose services for port users are still not 100% ready, by stating that “not using a piece of infrastructure that is finished is not acceptable from an economic and social viewpoint”.

The APB awarded the Gold Shield by the Felipe Moreno Tourism School

28/06/2013

The APB has been awarded the Felipe Moreno University Tourism School’s Gold Shield to mark its contribution to cruise tourism. The APB Chairman, José Mª Urrutia, was given this year’s top prize by the School’s director, Felipe Moreno, at the academic year’s closing ceremony held last night at the Sant Francesc school in Palma de Majorca. Urrutia thanked the School for the award and highlighted the hard work put in by APB staff to win this prize.

The Botafoc Quays in Ibiza are handed over to the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands

18/06/2013

The new Botafoc Quays at the Port of Ibiza, which are soon to come into service, were handed over yesterday to the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands. Yesterday afternoon, nearly seven months after the work was finished, a ceremony to hand over the quays was held and was attended by the Development Ministry inspector, the Port Authority Chairman, José Mª Urrutia, and representatives of the consortium made up of Ferrovial Agromán, S.A., Construcciones y Estudios, S.A. and Construcciones Llull Sastre, S.A. The total tender cost of the new infrastructure, which consisted of building a surface area of 65,000 m2 and two 220 metre-long transversal quays, was €67 million. The new Botafoc Quays are equipped to cater for regular ferry passenger traffic and general Ro-ro cargo and ensure safe operations in a new area away from the city centre. The APB aims to move commercial traffic to this new area in the Port of Ibiza on 1st July, thus freeing up the Levante Dock. A ferry terminal and fixed gangways for passengers to embark and disembark are being built on this new area, which was reclaimed from the sea. Meanwhile, passengers will be catered for at a temporary terminal. The new Botafoc Quays will feature areas for embarking and pre-embarking goods and vehicles, as well as car parks for cars, coaches, taxis and buses.

The Port of Ibiza tenders the management of the La Marina Quay for large yachts

30/05/2013

Today, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands’ Board of Directors approved the terms and conditions for the public tender to operate the Levante Quay for large yachts at the Port of Ibiza, more commonly known as the La Marina Quay. The management will be based on a twelve-month temporary occupancy authorisation. Subsequently, a new tender will be put out for an administrative concession with the same purpose. The APB thus aims to respond to the potential market for yachts over sixty metres long as the Port of Ibiza is not currently catering for existing demand in this niche. The scheduled transfer of commercial port operations to the new Botafoc quays this summer will enable the Levante Quay to be used for megayachts this season. The tender contemplates managing an area of over 24,000 m2, of which over 22,000 m2 correspond to water surface. The facilities installed for the operation will be removable. The minimum tender price has been set at €174,000.

The Port of La Savina tenders the management of the inner Poniente Quay for recreational and leisure craft moorings

30/05/2013

Today, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands’ Board of Directors approved the terms and conditions for the public tender to manage the recreational and leisure craft moorings at the inner Poniente Quay at the Port of La Savina for a maximum period of twelve years. As a result of the High Court ruling which declared the nullity of several proceedings related to the selection of the best offer and granting of the concession to the company Marina de Formentera, S.A., a new tender is to be put out. The purpose of this new tender is the operation of over 17,000 m2 of public port land, of which over 5,000 m2 correspond to land and several buildings. The minimum annual tender price has been set at €607,500.

Official Reception for the Carnival Sunshine in the port of Palma

16/05/2013

The APB gave an official reception today for the cruise ship Carnival Sunshine, coinciding with its first stopover in the port of Palma. The director of the APB, Jorge Nasarre López, presented the captain of the boat, Guiseppe Juisa ¸ with a plaque commemorating the event. Among those attending was shipping agents representative from the company, Baleares Consignatarios.

The MSC Simfonia visits the Port of Maó for the first time

10/05/2013

This morning and for the first time, the Port of Maó played host to the MSC Simfonia, the largest vessel ever to berth at the Minorcan port. To commemorate this historic event, a simple plaque-exchanging ceremony was held on board the ship which was attended by the Mayor of Maó, Àgueda Reynés the Minorcan Regional Tourism Minister, Salomé Cabrera the APB Chairman, José María Urrutia, and MSC’s General Manager in Spain, Emiliano González. The MSC Simfonia, which is 251 metres long and weighs 58,625 GT, arrived early this morning at the Port of Maó and set sail at around three p.m. The City Council organised a Minorcan horse dressage exhibition on the quayside in the vessel’s honour to the delight of the over 2,000 passengers on board. The MSC Simfonia is set to call at the Port of Maó on 27 occasions this season.

Official Reception for the Carnival Legend in the port of Palma

23/04/2013

The APB gave an official reception today for the cruise ship Carnival Legend, coinciding with its first stopover in the port of Palma. The director of the APB, Jorge Nasarre López, presented the captain of the boat, Guiseppe Donato¸ with a plaque commemorating the event. Among those attending was shipping agents representative from the company, Baleares Consignatarios: José Sennacheribbo.

The Provincial Court confirms Formentera Mar must pay the APB

17/04/2013

The Palma de Majorca Provincial Court has sentenced the company Formentera Mar to pay the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) the amount of €26,000 in addition to the costs incurred at first instance, on the grounds that it has obtained “unjust enrichment” to the detriment of the port body. The ruling, which was made public on Monday 15th April, upholds the appeal lodged by the APB against the sentence issued on 28th September 2012 by the Court of First Instance No. 6 in Palma de Majorca. As a consequence, the Provincial Court thus reverses and annuls the initial ruling. The Provincial Court found that Formentera Mar had effectively occupied a building in the Port of La Savina without any authorisation to do so and had made “no payment of any kind”. The sum payable is based on the charges that the APB would have received during the years Formentera Mar occupied and used the premises, if a concession had been granted.