News APB | Ports de Balears

The APB will invest 12.3 million euros in the implementation of cold ironing systems in the ports of Palma, Alcúdia, Eivissa and Maó

14/07/2022

The ferries that dock at the Paraires quay or the Commercial quays at the port of Palma will be connected to the on-shore power grid while they are moored at the port in order to reduce the emission of gases and noise generated by them during waiting, disembarkation and embarkation operations. This technique, known as cold ironing, is an alternative way for ships to keep machinery idle and therefore eliminate the impact produced by their noise and pollution. Following a trial period, in collaboration with Baleària’s Eleanor Roosevelt, the facility will be prepared to connect to the power grid a ferry with a maximum power demand of 1,600kW (medium voltage) and another fast ferry with 800 kW (low voltage), although not simultaneously. For the on-shore electrical connection, the system has 275 metres of medium voltage underground lines, a transformation centre and a frequency elevating substation in the service area of the port of Palma. The pilot experience in Palma will later be implemented in the port of Alcúdia (Ponent quays), Ibiza (Botafoc quays) and Maó (Cós Nou). The commissioning of these facilities is planned for the second half of 2024 and will involve an investment of 12.3 million euros. Support for institutions In this context, the APB plans to apply jointly with the Port Authority of Barcelona to the call for European CEF-Transport 2022 grants from the Programme to Support Sustainable and Digital Transport in Competitive Concurrence with the OPS4B&ampB project. Specifically, the plan falls under action line 5, measure 11: Maritime Transport Sustainability. This aid scheme subsidises up to 40% of the total amount of the work. In this respect, the support of the local institutions has been unanimous: Town councils, island councils and the Government have signed a letter of endorsement that will accompany the initiative, with the conviction that climate neutrality and the desire to make the ports of general interest in the Balearic Islands as environmentally friendly as possible is a common objective. Reducing emissions When in port, ships use their auxiliary engines to produce electricity during loading, unloading and mooring operations. Although the amount of emissions produced during the mooring phase is less than during the maritime traffic phase itself, in this case the pollutants emitted directly affect the air quality of the population centres near the port, as well as the port itself. The use of electrical energy from the national grid means a reduction in the emissions produced by the ship, as the emission factor per MWh of the grid’s generators is much lower than that of the ship's auxiliary engines.

Environment and CSR Next Generation UE Technology and innovation Transport and infrastructure

The APB presents its stakeholders with the results from air quality monitoring in ports of general interest

12/07/2022

In recent years, the stakeholders of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) have become increasingly concerned about air quality and its possible impact on the activity in the ports it manages, hence the conference scheduled for 15 July at the APB’s institutional headquarters (Moll Vell, 3) from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, entitled “Air quality, a priority for our ports”. During the meeting, experienced speakers will address the problem and the solution from different perspectives, placing special emphasis on the importance of having sufficient economic and human resources to ensure that the processes of monitoring and controlling air quality are rigorous and accurate, in order to obtain objective, reliable and real data for accountability and strategic decision-making. The Director General for Energy and Climate Change, Pep Malagrava, will therefore present the collaboration agreement between different institutions on air quality in Palma. The Sustainability Observatory will also be presented by Fernando Prieto, and the APB’s environmental strategy, by the head of the Quality, Environment, Innovation and CSR Department, Jorge Martín. Finally, the different projects related to this subject that the public authority is carrying out will be presented: air quality monitoring, the Eiffel project, Greenhyland and incorporation into the Ecological Transition Cluster. Transparency and active listening Through this type of meeting, which is open to the public and the media, the APB is committed to the transparency and active listening of its stakeholders, who are clearly concerned about the quality of the air they breathe. It is also focused on the joint search for solutions through institutional alliances that speed up the achievement of significant improvements, making port cities healthier and more resilient to the effects of climate change.

Environment and CSR Socio-economic development

The port of Palma is replenished with mussels for the biofiltration of its waters

06/07/2022

In 2022, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) launched the project The mussel as a bioremediator in the port of Palma waters. This is a study led by the Oceanographic Centre of the Balearic Islands, which has confirmed its viability and survival after passing the first tests. With the logistical support of the company Astilleros de Mallorca, the Oceanographic scientists started work in the port of Palma, installing several “ropes” with mussels provided by shellfish gatherers from Menorca. Specifically, two ropes, each with about 30 mussels, were installed in the Astilleros de Mallorca dock facilities, another in those of the nautical concession La Lonja Marina Charter and a fourth outside the port, which serves to control and differentiate parameters with those inside the port. Every three months, the Oceanographic Centre’s research team, led by Ms. Salud Deudero, will analyse the tissues of the mussels in this first phase, determining the amount of hydrocarbons, heavy metals and microplastics they accumulate. Finally, in this first phase of the study, if the mussels in the port of Palma were clearly found to be beneficial and viable for the final biofiltration of port water, a scientific proposal would be published to implement bioremediation with mussels in the port of Palma, in order to scale it up to other ports managed by the APB in the medium term. Filtering all the water in the port The first calculations made by the scientists assure that some 4,000 metres of mussel rope, which would be installed and hidden under some marshes, at no inconvenience to sailors or users, could filter all the water in the port of Palma every three months, as a single mussel filters up to two litres of water per hour. These preliminary calculations will finally be validated in the second phase of the study. In fact, different studies, such as that of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the United Kingdom, confirm the capacity of mussels to eliminate small floating plastics, proving that a group of just 300 mussels could filter up to 250,000 pieces of microplastics every hour. The results show that mussels could rapidly reduce up to 25% of the microplastics floating in the sea. To date, there is no cheaper, more ecological and sustainable formula for filtering and purifying port water than the one implemented in the port of Palma. Furthermore, according to the experts, the mussels will not have to be sacrificed, as they will be able to live their entire life cycle without suffering from living in a port, where until a few years ago they were common. The polluting substances would finally be recovered and disposed of in accordance with current regulations. These molluscs could therefore restore the ecological balance of port waters, even if it takes years or decades, in a natural and environmentally-balanced manner. On the other hand, the mussels will under no circumstances be intended for consumption, but only to filter, oxygenate and help improve port waters, and perhaps in the future also waters with deficient oxygenation and renewal or with an excess of fertilisers of agricultural origin in areas close to outfalls. Pioneering experience in New York The port of New York was the first in the world to implement a large-scale bioremediation system using mussels. The conclusions reached by researchers from the American Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are clear: the mussels succeeded in filtering bacteria, microalgae, sediments, hydrocarbons, heavy metals and even microplastics, considerably improving the biological and physico-chemical conditions of the port waters of the American city.

Environment and CSR Technology and innovation

Club Marítimo Mahón will manage a nautical-sports marina on the Levante quay of the port of Maó

01/07/2022

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) agreed yesterday at a meeting held in Palma to select the proposal submitted by the Club Marítimo Mahón for the management of a nautical-sports facility for small and medium-sized boats in the Levante dock of the port of Maó, between the area known as sa Punta des Rellotge and es Gatassus. This authorisation is aimed primarily at the promotion and teaching of water sports and consists of 165 moorings for boats from eight to fifteen metres long. The space, with an area of 19,167squaremetres of water and 698squaremetres of land, has four floating and occasionally piloted pontoons. It also includes an esplanade and a quay beside it, intended for the mooring of light boats for training, sports, and non-profit-making educational, social and cultural activities. As this offer was considered the most advantageous solution by the Board of Directors, a temporary authorisation will be granted for two years, with the possibility of its renewal every year up to a maximum period of three years. The initial occupancy fee was 160,862 euros per year, to which the Club Marítimio Mahón has added an improvement corresponding to 44,438 euros, in addition to the 4% activity fee.

Transport and infrastructure Socio-economic development Port-city Environment and CSR

The APB will occupy the Levante sub-basin of the port of La Savina and will use it for the operation of excursion boats

01/07/2022

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) agreed yesterday in an ordinary meeting to take possession of the Levante sub-dock located in the northern area of the Poniente dock of the port of La Savina, integrating these spaces with the rest of those managed directly by the APB and taking charge of their normal operation and maintenance. Its plans included the transfer of passenger embarkation and disembarkation operations from excursion boats to this area. This resolution will be communicated to Marina Formentera, S.A., and will once again require the immediate delivery of the public domain that it is deliberately occupying since 28 May 2022 without the right to do so, warning of the responsibilities that can be attributed to its refusal to deliver the port’s public property and to its illegal occupancy.

Transport and infrastructure Socio-economic development Port-city

The work on the adaptation of the environment and the façade of the APB offices in Eivissa terminates

10/06/2022

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has started work to adapt the environment and the façade of the main office building of the APB in Eivissa, located at the access to the North docks. More specifically, lighting, garden and parking elements have been improved. This project was also intended to increase and renew the pedestrian space around the building. The area is illuminated by LED lighting, while the landscaped area includes an automatic watering system. In terms of accessibility, a ramp has been built attached to the façade and the emergency exits have been adjusted. Finally, linear pergolas made of galvanised steel have been installed. The work was performed by the company TECOPSA for 525,000 euros.

Port-city Transport and infrastructure

The APB celebrates International Archives Day by bringing to light the original project for the lighthouse in the port of Palma

09/06/2022

. The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) is bringing to light the original project for the construction of the lighthouse in the port of Palma (or lighthouse of La Riba) on the occasion of the International Archives Day. This is the central element of the exhibition that will be open to the public between 8 and 10 June, at the APB’s Institutional Headquarters on the Old Quay. The project, dated 1899 and signed by the engineer Juan Malberti Rigo, who was director of the Board of the Port of Palma de Mallorca between 1874 and 1912, can be seen in the first exhibition organised by the APB Archive, to celebrate the institution’s 150th anniversary this year. Juan Malberti designed the lighthouse at the turn of the century and inaugurated it on 1 November 1903. It remained in service until 1982, when it was definitively extinguished and replaced by other beacons installed along the quay. The building was dismantled stone by stone, numbered and rebuilt on the current site of the main road and backbone of the commercial docks at the port of Palma. During this period, it marked the end of the Paseo de la Riba, an endearing and very popular place among the people of Palma at the time. Today it represents the institutional image of the APB. The exhibition also includes other original projects for port works, period manuscripts, facsimiles and photographs. All these documents have been catalogued by the APB Archive, which begins its mission to bring a small part of its documentary heritage closer to society through this exhibition. International Archives Day Due to its uniqueness, the APB Archive is a true ark of knowledge. Its documentary heritage provides information on engineering, social changes, urban and port development, meteorology, economics, history, etc. All this outlines a map of the social, economic and cultural development of the cities. Ports are the most important pillars of an archipelago, and its city shapers. On the occasion of International Archives Day, 9 June, and coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the constitution of the Port Authority, the APB Archive is opening this exhibition, which will be located at the APB’s Institutional Headquarters on Palma’s Old Quay no. 3, between 8 and 10 June, from 10 am to 3 pm, except on Thursday 9th, when it will be open from 10 am to 7 pm.

Port-city 150th anniversary

The terms and conditions of the tender for the management of a nautical facility for small and medium-sized boats in the port of Eivissa have been approved

08/06/2022

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has agreed to publish the terms and conditions of the public tender for the management of a nautical facility for small and medium-sized boats in the port of Eivissa, on the site currently occupied by Club Náutico Ibiza (Nautical Club). The most advantageous solution submitted will be chosen for the granting of a total area of 29,309 square metres (22,596 square metres of water and 6,713 square metres of land), with special attention to the promotion and teaching of the sport that is a benchmark for social responsibility in the nautical sector. The terms and conditions of the tender therefore prioritise the social role and the promotion of sport that the entity awarded the contract will bring to the port community as opposed to the usual nautical facilities that are more geared towards generating economic resources. This operation of this facility will be subject to administrative authorisation and includes the management of 269 moorings for nautical-sports vessels of up to 15 metres in length, bar-cafeteria-restaurant service, mooring of light boats and performance of educational, sporting, social and cultural activities of a non-profit nature, which will be proposed by the bidder. The annual amount of the occupancy rate for improvement by the bidder will be 334,101euros. Resident vessels As this is a facility for small and medium-sized boats, where the maximum length is limited to 15 metres, the mooring places will preferably be used for resident vessels. However, the holder of the authorisation is able to reserve some moorings up to a maximum of 15% for temporary users. The duration of the authorisation will be one year, renewable on an annual basis up to a maximum of three years. This public tender responds to a transitory situation and, therefore, what is intended is mainly to maintain the different services that have been provided within these facilities, as well as the areas that are dedicated to each of them. However, investments in improvements to safety and operating conditions can be proposed - and will be assessed - as well as those linked to the Contingency Plan, all with removable facilities, in the event of possible episodes of unrest occurring in their interior to this end, the APB will make available to the future licensee 3,000 square metres of land and 4,500 square metres of water, as well as 100 mooring places in the low season in the facilities managed by Marina de Botafoc. 180 square metres of floating pontoons will also be provided in the event of activation of the Contingency Plan, all in the interests of prioritising the safety and operational conditions of the facility for boats and users.

Transport and infrastructure Socio-economic development Port-city

The APB awards Igy Gestora Marinas Spain the management of the moorings for large vessels in the Levante basin of the port of Eivissa

08/06/2022

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has agreed to choose Igy Gestora Marinas Spain, S.L. for the most advantageous offer to manage moorings for large vessels in the Levante basin of the port of Eivissa. As a novelty, this concession will allow the mooring of vessels of between 20 and 40 metres in length, in the case of resident vessels - or rather, with a minimum stay of six months a year - or temporary moorings in the low season. This measure is taken with the aim of guaranteeing a greater presence of vessels and thus boosting economic activity in the Marina area throughout the season. In high season the limitation for temporary vessels is set at more than 40 metres. As with the previous concession, this new one includes the management of 42,152 square metres of surface area - 38,852 m2 of water and 2,745 m2 of land - and two mooring lines, one of 240 metres on the Levante quay and another of 115 metres on the east side of the Contramuelle (opposite quay), popularly known as es Martell. The ground floor of the es Martell building will also form part of the concession, measuring some 600 square metres, which may be used for commercial premises for those activities authorised by the APB in accordance with the DEUP (Delimitation of Port Areas and Uses) (mixed use 2: commercial, nautical sports and complementary use). The roof and stairs of the building will continue to be for public use as before, similar to the quay area, where the installation of enclosures or partitions that prevent pedestrian use is prohibited. Concession period The maximum concession period will be eight years and five months. The initial occupancy fee was 408,019.20 euros per year, to which Igy Gestora Marinas Spain has added an improvement corresponding to 1,325,000 euros, in addition to the 4% activity fee. The APB will hand over the facilities to the concessionaire in the state in which Sovren Ibiza left them on the date of expiry of its concession, with some of the works unfinished.

Transport and infrastructure Socio-economic development Port-city

The APB reminds owners of restaurants with terraces on Palma’s seafront promenade to comply with closing times

24/05/2022

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has sent these restaurants a letter reminding owners that they are obliged to comply with the authorised opening hours. As stated in the terms and conditions under which the licences for these spaces are granted, the opening and closing hours are generally from 07:00 to 00:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of public holidays they are from 07:00 to 00:30 and, exceptionally, from 1 April to 31 October the closing hours will be extended by a further half hour. The above complies with the Municipal Ordinance on the Occupation of Public Thoroughfares issued by Palma Council. With regard to the occupation of the terraces, restaurant owners are reminded that the free movement of pedestrians must be respected and that these terraces must be dismantled when the establishment is closed. The APB has found that in the area of Avenida Gabriel Roca in the port of Palma the habit of keeping the terraces open until the early hours of the morning is becoming more widespread. This has increased since the restaurants were allowed to extend the occupation of the terraces to one of the vehicle traffic lanes. In addition, numerous complaints about the noise late at night have been received from neighbours, as it disrupts their rest. Finally, the letter reminds all establishments that failure to comply with these conditions will be reported and consequently lead to the termination of their occupancy permit granted by the APB, where applicable. This report will also be sent to Palma City Council so that it can ensure compliance with its municipal ordinances on the occupation of public thoroughfares and noise.

Port-city

The company Poon Hill SL will manage the moorings in the area of the d’en Reynés slipway in the port of Maó

24/05/2022

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has agreed to grant the company Poon Hill SL. authorisation to occupy public domain for the management of mooring places in the area of the de’n Reynés dry dock on the Levante quay at the port of Maó. This temporary authorisation involves the management of a total surface area of 11,019.30 square metres of water mirror and 247 metres of mooring line, where the successful bidder will manage 48 moorings of between eight and thirty metres in length. The APB has chosen the most advantageous solution to grant the bidder an administrative authorisation to operate this area for a period of two years, renewable for up to a maximum of one year. The operation consists of the management of moorings for leisure boats, the supply of water and electricity to boats, and the provision of telephone and data transmission services to users. The tender specifications established an initial occupancy fee of 107,120 euros and an activity fee of 4% of turnover. The winning bid has additionally proposed a fixed annual amount of 130,000 euros for the improvement of the occupancy and activity fees, which is added to the previous amounts.

Socio-economic development

Port Med Formentera will manage the moorings and premises of the Poniente dock at the port of La Savina

24/05/2022

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) agreed yesterday, in a meeting held in Palma, to choose as the most advantageous solution the bid submitted by the company Port Med Formentera, S.L. for the management of mooring places and premises in the western inner dock at the port of La Savina (Formentera). As this offer was considered the most advantageous solution by the Board of Directors, an administrative authorisation will be granted for one year, with the possibility of its renewal every year up to a maximum period of three years. The tender conditions establish the management of a total surface area of 13,408 square metres, of which 9,183 square metres correspond to water and the rest to land. It also includes the management of three buildings for commercial activities, as well as a fuel supply station for pleasure boats. The tender specifications established an initial occupancy tax of 507,786.90 euros and an activity tax of 4% of turnover. The winning bid has additionally proposed a fixed annual amount of 1,010,000 euros for the improvement of the occupancy and activity fees, which is added to the previous amounts. Rearrangement of the space The APB Board of Directors agreed, at its meeting on 23 February, to relocate passenger embarkation and disembarkation from the boats used for sea trips to the vicinity of the maritime station. Specifically in a space that is currently part of the concession granted at the time to the company Marina de Formentera SA, which ends on 27 May. Therefore, this area of the port does not form part of the scope of this new authorisation, but it will include the space on the body of water that will be left free on the Pantalán quay and Ribera quay with the transfer of the boats used for sea trips. This space is proposed to be dedicated to the management of moorings of up to six metres in length, which in high season - and at the request of the Consell Insular de Formentera - may only be used for nautical charter boats. This reorganisation of the space is compatible with the current planning instruments of the port of La Savina and with the new Special Plan (currently being processed), as well as with the current layout of the recently built port promenade.

Socio-economic development