Palma.The islands where moorings for vessels from 15 metres in length upwards have become the costliest are Ibiza and Formentera. Mooring a boat between 30 and 40 metres long can now cost around 1'643 euros a day on Ibiza and about 1'200 a day on Formentera.
The Balearic Nautical Sports Association (Anade) explained yesterday that the larger the boat, the higher the cost of the mooring will be, and even more so in August.
A spokesman said that although Balearic moorings were not cheap in comparison with prices charged at marinas and ports elsewhere on the mainland, there was indeed a notable difference in price between moorings owned by the regional Ports Authority and those run by private companies.
Market forces
The President of the Balearic Ports Authority, José Maria Urrutia said that whether or not private moorings were dear was a question of the market. The government won't interfere in how supply and demand fixes the price of moorings, said Urrutia.
Although the price of a mooring owned by the Balearic Ports Authority might be cheaper, furthered Urrutia, it can't offer the same level of facilities as those available in private clubs. Moorings in the high season are 50 percent dearer than they are out of the tourist season, he said. Because of the intense demand for moorings in high summer in Ibiza, prices there in August are around 35 percent dearer than they are on Majorca or Minorca.
Nautical businesses agree that the Balearics is a fashionable destination for luxury yachts in the summer and that there is no sign of an economic crisis in this sector, quite the reverse.