Noticias APB | Ports de Balears

The ports of Eivissa and La Savina undertake to repair damage to the paintwork of their facilities within 12 working hours

06/04/2021

The ports of Eivissa and La Savina undertake to repair damage to the paintwork of their exterior facilities within 12 working hours. The new contract, awarded to APIMOSA, began on 9 March and will have a duration of 2 years with a possible extension of two more, and is valued at 424,615 euros. The service includes refurbishing the surface of railings, benches, structures, enclosures and other metal furniture and ornamental elements (grilles, anchors, lights, litter bins...). Work is also carried out on horizontal traffic signs and interior and exterior walls. The problems detected will be reported through a Computer Aided Maintenance Management System (CMMS), and will be resolved within the contractual deadlines. Objectives In parallel to the possible problems, the following tasks are already: Painting the façade of the APB building in Eivissa, maintenance of the horizontal traffic signs in the Port-City area and in the Botafoc operations area (Eivissa) and recoating outside the La Savina urbanisation project.

Transport and infrastructure Port-city

The APB starts the strategic environmental study for the Special Plan for the Port of Eivissa

06/04/2021

During March, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has started the strategic environmental study for the Special Plan for the Port of Eivissa. This study, entrusted to a technical design office, is being carried out at the request of the Balearic Islands Environmental Commission, and will form part of the procedure for the creation of the Special Plan, which the APB will be able to complete once the Definition of the Port Area and its Uses (DEUP) has been approved. The preparatory work for the creation of the Special Plan—an urban planning procedure for ports classified as installations of national importance, and which involves coordination between the public administrations responsible for the port area—started in March 2018 in the form of a technical commission formed by the APB and Eivissa Municipal Council. In December 2019 the APB transmitted the agreed draft of the Special Plan to the Municipal Council (the body responsible for approving it), together with a document requesting the initiation of the strategic environmental evaluation procedure. This request was transmitted by the Municipal Council to the Environmental Commission of the Government of the Balearic Islands. In March 2021 the APB and the Municipal Council received a reply from the Commission, which, after carrying out the mandatory consultations, includes the technical considerations and scope for the undertaking of this study. DEUP For its part, the DEUP for the Port of Eivissa—a procedure used in ports classified as installations of national importance to identify the public port area in accordance with its current and foreseeable uses—is awaiting approval on the part of the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Planning. The APB has processed the DEUP in accordance with the legal procedure established in the Revised Text of the Spanish Law for Public Ports and the Merchant Navy, including the mandatory process of citizen participation with public information and consultation with the public administrations affected and the persons concerned. These include the Department of the Environment and Territorial Planning of the Government of the Balearic Islands, which transmitted to the APB the observations taken into account for the final drafting of the document. In this respect, the Spanish National Ports Authority, after receiving reports from the Spanish Solicitor General’s Office, declares that the processing of the DEUP does not require its submission to the formal procedure for strategic environmental assessment, which is however required for the Special Plan. Nevertheless, the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has participated in the process through the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and the Coastline, whose final report was favourable in keeping with the conditions established in the final document of the DEUP.

Transport and infrastructure Environment and CSR

The APB promotes sustainable mobility among its employees

30/03/2021

Employees of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) participate in the ‘30-day Ciclogreen Challenge’ held in April. The main aim of this challenge is to promote sustainable mobility within the organization and help reduce CO2 emissions from transport. Therefore, APB workers commit themselves to going to work using a sustainable means of transport: bicycle, on foot, electric scooter, public transport, etc. But this commitment is not only limited to 30 days in April. The organization aims to encourage long-lasting healthy habits among its employees, allowing them to take advantage of the environmental benefits of sustainable mobility. The Ciclogreen mobile app enables employees to log their sustainable journeys. In return, they accumulate kilometre points (ciclos) for each kilometre travelled. Those employees, who reach the minimum number of cycles and, therefore, manage to meet the challenge, will enter the draw for different prizes including a bicycle. Each user will also be able to access their private profile to see all the details of their trips and the metrics of their activities. Through this challenge, the APB collaborates in the transition from the prevailing mobility model in our cities to a more sustainable, efficient and safe one. For a long time now, many experts have warned of the problems related to our travel habits: air and noise pollution, less friendly cities for people, traffic, stress, etc. Reduction of CO2 emissions The organization can use the control panel that includes the initiative to monitor the reduction of CO2 emissions registered during the month of April. This will show it exactly how the challenge is working among the employees and if the objectives of reducing the company's carbon footprint are being met.

Restoration service for the lighthouses of Formentor and Artrutx is once again being put out to tender

24/03/2021

The Board of Directors of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB), in an ordinary session on 18 March, agreed to launch a public tender for the management of two tourism establishments at the lighthouses of Formentor (Mallorca) and Artrutx (Menorca). In both cases, the most advantageous bid will be selected and the corresponding authorisation will be granted for the operation of a bar-cafeteria-restaurant service. Both lighthouses have been offering this service to the public for years through different authorisations. The cafeteria at the Formentor lighthouse has been open since 2006 and has been a compulsory stop for residents and tourists for decades. The restaurant at the Artrutx lighthouse opened its doors in 2009. Recognised for being located in areas with very picturesque landscapes, these two lighthouses are the only ones in the Balearic Islands that have a service of this kind, although the APB is about to grant the operation of a new cafeteria at the lighthouse of La Mola in Formentera. Three years of authorisation In the case of the Formentor lighthouse, authorisation will be granted for temporary occupation of several premises (rooms in the lighthouse building, annexes, garage, place where the transformer was located and a warehouse under the viewpoint) with a total surface area of 636.5 m2, for the use of a public port area for hotel and catering purposes. The annual amount of the occupation fee to be improved by the bidder amounts to 32,153.06 Euro excluding VAT. The maximum duration of the authorisation will be three years from the date it is granted. On the other hand, with regard to the Artrutx lighthouse, the specifications contemplate the occupation of rooms in the lighthouse building, the substitute's house, the warehouse, annexes, and an uncovered area adjacent to the lighthouse for use as a terrace. The annual amount of the occupation fee to be improved by the bidder is 11,280.39 Euro excluding VAT. The maximum duration of the authorisation will be three years, starting from the date it is granted.

Socio-economic development

The APB improves the pavement surface of the Camí de s’Escullera

17/03/2021

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) improves the pavement surface on the sea side of the Camí de s’Escullera in the port of Palma. Pavements, foundation slabs, concrete factories and others that will allow the work to be done properly have already begun to be demolished. The work ranges from the top of the APB headquarters to the access road to the commercial docks and is being carried out in a way that causes the least possible interference with the use of the port. For greater security, one of the access traffic lanes to the Paseo Marítimo has been shut off. Construcciones, Excavaciones y Asfaltos (COEXA) is the company that has been awarded the contract, which has a cost of €341,676.85 and an expected duration of three months. This project will create eight direct jobs.

Port-city Transport and infrastructure

The restaurants in the port of Palma are committed to sustainability with the separation and monitoring of their organic waste

15/03/2021

12 restaurants located in the port of Palma are participating in a pilot project for the collection of organic matter promoted by the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB). The initiative began in 2019 with a group of restaurants that started to separate their organic waste in specific containers, monitored in real time, and up to now they have collected more than 19 tons of organic matter. The key point is in the correct separation and sensorisation of containers, which enables restaurant owners and the APB to know the weight of the waste and its origin in real time. Each participant can therefore access their data at any time through a computer application. The municipal collection service is responsible for removing the waste on a daily basis and delivering it to the TIRME recovery plant, where this waste goes through a process of producing compost that is delivered to local producers to fertilise their crops. This year the project has been consolidated, and restaurant owners have been invited to close the circle by purchasing agricultural products from local suppliers. By doing this, the initiative to minimise and recover waste along with the value of supporting 0 km products reduces the carbon footprint. Certificate issued by the APB Restaurant owners have a spreadsheet where they enter the necessary kilos of agricultural products grown in Majorca, and which informs them whether the quantities purchased are sufficient to counterbalance the waste produced. If so, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands will issue a certificate to the establishment confirming and distinguishing its initiative.

Environment and CSR

APB opens a tender for improving the energy efficiency of public lighting at the port of Alcúdia

12/03/2021

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) opens a tender for improving the energy efficiency of public lighting at the port of Alcúdia. This improvement project, which is in the open tender phase, has an initial budget of 1,081,635 euros and an expected duration of 5 months from the official start of the works. The deadline for receiving offers is 25 March 2021. Interested parties may submit their applications through the APB Electronic Bidding Portal. The proposal provides for replacement of the type of lamps used - 12% of which are also in poor condition - by other more efficient technologies such as LEDs that reduce light pollution levels. A total of 739 light points with 1,192 lamps have been inventoried in the port’s outdoor facility. In the port, restricted access areas are combined with spaces open to the public such as pedestrian walkways, double-lane and single-lane roads, bicycle lanes, loading and/or passenger docks, parking lots, etc. that require different levels of lighting to ensure their safe usage. This intervention also seeks to reduce the costs of electricity consumption by 50% through replacing discharge or fluorescent lamps - less efficient than current technological developments - with LEDs, together with the implementation of regulation equipment and the use of remote management systems in switchboards to adapt lighting to environmental conditions. Reduction of CO2 emissions This improvement in energy efficiency also aims to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases, in compliance with European guidelines and current trends towards sustainability. This public lighting energy efficiency project covers other ports of general interest in the Balearic Islands. In fact, work has already begun in Palma, Maó and la Savina, while in Eivissa, a tender will soon be opened.

Environment and CSR Port-city Transport and infrastructure

Work starts on the replacement of the lighthouse at Punta s'Esperó in the port of Maó

11/03/2021

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) is installing a new lighthouse at Punta s'Esperó in Menorca. Work to replace the old one began in February and will last three months. The light source and solar panel have therefore been dismantled, and the old lighthouse, noted for its proximity to the sea and which had cracks and fissures in its reinforced concrete support structure due to corrosion of the reinforcement, has been demolished and will be replaced by another modular fibreglass and polyester one. The day mark of the new lighthouse will be 5 metres high and its focal height will be approximately 6.2 metres. The tower will be 1.25 metres wide and will be equipped with air vents to prevent the accumulation of gases and humidity. The contract was awarded to Mediterráneo Señales Marítimas SL at a cost of €49,500. Difficult access Before starting the demolition work, a temporary lighthouse with a high luminosity self-powered LED was installed so as not to alter its function as a navigational aid for ships. Due to the location of the lighthouse and its difficult access, all demolition work was carried out manually, with the loading of waste into sacks and the help of a crane truck. The new lighthouse, equipped with LED lamps, will have much lower maintenance cost and energy consumption. The Punta s'Esperó lighthouse, located on the cliffs of La Mola, at the entrance to the port of Maó, is the easternmost point in Spain.

Port-city Technology and innovation

The APB will present 310 million euros worth of Mediterranean Corridor projects to the European Commission

10/03/2021

The recent inclusion of the port of Palma in the Mediterranean Corridor as a node of the Trans-European Transport Network will enable the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) to participate in the Mediterranean Corridor Working Group and to propose and monitor projects that will make a significant contribution to the general objectives of that Corridor. The president of the APB, Francesc Antich, affirms that "the Mediterranean Corridor that strengthens the connection with the continent, which is so important for us in terms of goods and passengers, will allow us to participate in the commissions that must decide on funding to improve infrastructures and services.” The projects that the APB plans to carry out, in any event, in the investment planning of the Port of Palma until 2030 will thus be potentially eligible for EU funding. With the current estimates, updated periodically, they amount to 310 million euros, and are divided into three large groups, which are the development and modernisation of port infrastructures and internal connections and accesses to the port of Palma (275 million euros) the implementation of projects linked to clean energies and environmental sustainability (25 million euros) and the application of new technologies and innovation (10 million euros). The first group includes the development of docks and esplanades, interior roads and accesses to the southwest area of the port. The clean energy and sustainability projects include infrastructures and facilities for cold ironing, as well as systems to improve energy efficiency (lighting, promotion of electric vehicles) and even the possible desalination of water with renewable energies to supply vessels and terminals. Finally, the projects aim to transform the port of Palma into a digitalised and "intelligent" port, with new architecture and connections with operators and other ports, and further development of electronic administration and cybersecurity. Mediterranean Corridor The financial framework 2021-2027 of the CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) Regulation, which finances the trans-European transport, energy and telecommunications networks, includes among its objectives and priorities actions in 9 multimodal transport corridors (for goods and people), including the Mediterranean Corridor. Moreover, due to its connection with the European high-speed lines and its interoperability with the main Spanish ports, it is one of the major transport hubs at an economic and commercial level in Europe.

Transport and infrastructure Socio-economic development Technology and innovation

Fermín Aramburu: “We pilots have the manoeuvres in our veins”

04/03/2021

How does a person from Bilbao end up in Maó? In Bilbao, there was a lot of competition for pilot jobs and I didn’t see a lot of opportunities. On the other hand, I had sailed for many years with Iscomar and the Balearic ports were familiar to me. So I sat the exam in Madrid in June 2000 and I have been in Maó ever since. I’m very content with the work I have done. What training does a pilot have to do? We pilots are Merchant Navy captains we have also sat some exams, including a public entrance exam with different technical and legal topics. When you pass, you become an apprentice for 4 or 5 months, learning manoeuvres under the supervision of a pilot. After obtaining a certificate, you are officially appointed pilot and play an active role in the community. But training never ceases: Every 5 years we have to pass a tough exam to be able to remain in the job. What is a pilot’s mission? Our mission is to go on board the vessel to advise the captain on how to manoeuvre it until it reaches the dock. It is important to emphasize that we pilots do not take command of the ship at any time it is the captain who does so and relies on our advice. The same thing occurs for outbound pilotage: You board and give him advice on courses, speeds, possible tides and currents (although in the Mediterranean there are none). When we have done our job, we greet the crew and disembark. Another less known mission is inland pilotage, when a ship is moved from one dock to another due to operational requirements. The captain’s full trust is therefore very important. That’s what it’s like. Empathy, this word that is so fashionable these days, is essential for the technicalities of the job to be as positive as possible. You must have heard a lot of funny stories over more than 20 years. Yes, but what is more important are the compliments made by all the cruise passengers on their way to the port of Maó. Every one of them was amazed by the unique physical structure of this port. It was a key factor in attracting cruise ships to Maó. I would say that it has been more of a team effort, by the Port Authority, shipping agents, even the administrations, and us. In any case, Maó has a handicap, which is its relatively narrow structure, preventing it from accommodating cruise ships more than 275 m long. And the truth is that shipping companies are increasingly opting for larger ships, which are much more profitable. Do you remember your first manoeuvre in the port of Maó? No, not really. I had been there many times as captain and I worked alongside the pilot a lot, so I knew him very well. I don't know if it was a cruise ship or a ferry. What I do remember is the last one, a few days ago, the Volcán de Tinamar operated by Trasmediterránea. Have you experienced any complicated situation? We are always worried about everything going well, but fortunately we have been able to solve all problems, despite the limitations of a port like this one, with very strong winds. Has the work changed over the decades? It’s true that the ships are more high tech, and we have had to improve our knowledge to keep up. But the work itself and the manoeuvring are the same. It's in our veins. Your hobby has always been to get to know Menorca on foot. To stay in shape it's very good for me, and it's also very instructive and beautiful. The Camí de Cavalls is a real marvel, and other inland trails are equally interesting. What do you plan to do from now on? I'm going to do a lot of mountaineering in the Basque Country, and also hiking in Menorca.

Transport and infrastructure

The new vehicle weighing control systems at the port of Palma will allow the process to be automated and remotely managed

25/02/2021

The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) has new vehicle scales in the port of Palma. The new system enables automated weighing that is controlled from the APB security gates at the entrances to the different restricted areas. Since 2015, Palma's port facilities have had a weighing scale that can be used in both directions on the commercial docks, two scales (one inbound and one outbound) on the Poniente wharf, and another one on the Dique del Oeste (West dock). In its effort to modernise and implement state-of-the-art technology, the APB has welcomed the request for these functions, which include unattended terminals that allow drivers themselves to carry out the weighing. Therefore, this investment means that the drivers themselves will carry out the weighing, after prior authorisation. The price of the construction contract, awarded to Distribución de Registros de Control SL, was €99,547 and had a duration of 10 months. The scales are intended to speed up control of the removal of waste from ships and of goods for maritime transport, and to facilitate the control of any other type of check that may be necessary due to port operations or not, such as the unloading of bulk solids, the control of construction work material, etc. These include the weighing of waste from ships, MARPOL waste, enabling control and quantification of the kilos of waste unloaded during the stopover of ships. The aim is to simplify and streamline the process in order to improve operational efficiency.

Transport and infrastructure Technology and innovation

The APB offices in the port of La Savina will be moved to the Levante dock

24/02/2021

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has put out to tender the contract for the refurbishment of the first floor of Building A of the port of La Savina, situated in the Levante dock, between the Commercial and the fishing docks. After the refurbishment, the building will house the APB offices, which are currently located in the Casa del Mar building. The offices of other public services that currently share the Casa del Mar building will also be moved to the new facilities. These include the Maritime Authority, the Social Marine Institute, the Marine Reserve des Freus and the Consell de Formentera. The first floor of the new building will therefore house the offices, the control centre and changing rooms of the APB, offices for the Consell de Formentera, Maritime Authority and the Marine Reserve, a medical office, as well as a cafeteria, library, conference room, archive rooms, storage rooms and toilets. The ground floor will continue to be used for commercial purposes. Work will also be carried out on the entrances in the central inner courtyard of the building, improving accessibility and the institutional image of the port offices and administrations. Modernisation of the facilities The aim of this move is to make a series of improvements to optimise space in the administrative offices, improve accessibility for users and workers, and renew and update the image and working environment of the public administrations. The APB investment budget is €1,318,572 and the duration is 6 months from the start of the works. The deadline for receiving offers is 2 March 2021. Interested parties may submit their applications through the APB Electronic Bidding Portal.