At the Sa Rapita Yacht Club there are four boats that have been abandoned for years. One has been there for 15 years. Worthless and nothing more than waste, it has been placed in the corner of a car park.
Óscar Fernández, manager of the club, says: "The percentage of abandoned boats is very small, but when you have one, it's a problem for many reasons: the space it occupies, the unsafe conditions and, in general, the feeling of helplessness."
Boat abandonment is a headache, especially for small yacht clubs. The new Balearics Ports Law will streamline processes in these situations and provide clubs with legal protection.
These boats would ideally be auctioned off, but legal processes have been so slow that by the time it comes to sell, the boat has been rotting for years and has lost all its value. Scrapping it is the only option left. "Boats deteriorate very quickly if they are not cared for and can create safety problems. The debt keeps increasing while the boat loses value," says Berto Pons of the Can Picafort Yacht Club.
Under the new law there is to be a procedure involving notaries that will allow clubs to take action after six months of abandonment and non-payment of fees. The clubs will have to prove that they have tried to locate the owner or the operator. If the vessel retains any value, it will be auctioned off. If it is considered waste, it can be removed without fear of reprisal. "The intention is to provide the clubs with a clear roadmap and ensure they feel legally supported, as well as free up moorings and space," explains Sebastià Mesquida of the Partido Popular, one of the authors of the legislation.
"Until now, it has been incredibly frustrating. You knew you could try everything, but the process would drag on for years. It's even more difficult if it's a foreign vessel, and even more so if it's a flag of convenience. Now we can be an active participant, and when there's a defaulter, we can go to a notary and prove that attempts have been made to contact owners," says Fernández.
The reasons why boats that once cost a considerable sum end up abandoned are varied. Often it is purely financial. The owner experiences financial difficulties, and so boat mooring and maintenance are neglected. Isabel Teruel, president of the Balearic Marinas Association, says: "Some, once the debt equals or exceeds the cost of the boat, simply don't care."
Other examples are those of foreign owners who are never heard from again or a deceased owner and inheritance complications. In some clubs, these boats are referred to as corpses. Pons adds: "They leave their problem floating in your port."
Removing boats from the water can become an urgent matter for environmental and safety reasons. Clubs can move them to dry dock and store them while the cumbersome bureaucracy unfolds. Even so, space is limited and occupying it with this dead weight translates into a loss of income. "It becomes a double cost, a drain on resources, and it also gives a bad image," notes Climent Garau, president of the Portocolom Yacht Club.