With a nautical sector that generates more than 1 billion euros a year, the Balearics leads the way in recreational boat registrations in Spain, but it also ranks high in the national accident statistics.
The emergency coordination centre of Salvamento Marítimo in Palma ended 2024 with 421 rescues of recreational boats, compared to 305 rescues recorded in 2023. It is the second territory in Spain with the most accidents, only behind Barcelona, which responded to 436 emergency calls related to recreational boating in the same period.
Overcrowding and illegal rentals are a concern for the nautical sector in the islands, which is keeping a close eye on the new regulations being processed by the central government and the Balearic Government with conflicting approaches. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government will allow private individuals who own a boat to legally rent it out for up to three months a year. At the same time, it will exempt them from the obligation to have a nautical licence to operate recreational motor boats up to 5 metres in length with a maximum power of 15 hp and sailing boats up to 6 metres in length. The regional government fears that these changes will cause a sharp rise in the number of accidents on the Balearic coast, a figure that has been growing steadily in recent years.
With its new regulations, the regional government expressly prohibits this type of rental, but the central government has issued a warning: ‘It encroaches on the powers of the State and violates the principle of equality by preventing an activity that is lawful in the rest of the national territory’.
Toni Mercant, director general of Maritime Transport for the regional government, warns that if Sánchez’s executive decides to take the Balearics to the Constitutional Court over this regulation, the regional government will counter by withdrawing public moorings from private individuals who, as mooring holders in the islands’ ports, decide to profit from renting out their boats. ‘They could lose their mooring rights in favour of the 7,000 people on the waiting list for a mooring for their own non-profit use,’ he says.
The number of emergencies at sea in the Balearics rose by 81% last year, and most of the 743 maritime operations coordinated by the maritime rescue centre in Palma were related to recreational boats. The percentage of incidents involving recreational boats grew by 11% compared to 2023. The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, through the Merchant Navy Directorate, is responsible for ensuring the safety of navigation in Spain.
At the last National Maritime Congress, held last February, the director of Maritime Rescue, Jose Luis García Lena, announced the launch of the new National Plan for Special Services for the Rescue of Human Life at Sea and the Fight against Marine Pollution. This plan has a budget of 162.7 million euros and includes, among other things, the creation of a new coordination centre in Palma.