News APB | Ports de Balears

The APB organizes the 1st Lighthouse Painting and Photography Competition

20/05/2010

Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) is sponsoring the First Competition of Painting and Photography of Majorcan lighthouses, organized jointly with the Centre of Fine Arts (Circulo de Bellas Artes) in Palma de Mallorca. The competition is open to all those painters and photographers living in the Balearic Islands, provided they have participated in at least one of the scheduled activities at the lighthouses organized by the APB and the Centre of Fine Arts. There is a total of six thousand euros to be distributed over several prizes and in three categories: watercolour, other artistic techniques and photography. The Jury of Selection and Qualification will consist of a representative of the APB, a representative of the Círculo de Bellas Artes de Palma de Mallorca and various persons of recognized standing in the art world who will be appointed by the APB according to the proposals of the Círculo de Bellas Artes. The contest rules are available on www.portsdebalears.com

La APB celebra el II Encuentro Informativo con los medios de comunicación pitiusos

07/05/2010

La Autoridad Portuaria de Baleares organiza el II Encuentro Informativo sobre Puertos, Logística y Transporte Marítimo con los Medios de Comunicación dirigido a los medios de comunicación locales de las Pitiusas que se llevará a cabo en Eivissa del 20 al 22 de mayo.El motivo que nos ha llevado a realizar este encuentro es nuestro interés por divulgar el papel que tienen, día a día, los puertos de interés general de las Illes Balears en el desarrollo económico y social de nuestra comunidad. Para facilitar la tarea diaria desarrollada por los profesionales de la comunicación, se tratará sobre temas como terminología portuaria, operativa, gestión, infraestructuras y servicios portuarios entre otros. Los títulos de las ponencias previstas, que irán a cargo del presidente Francesc Triay y de personal técnico de la Autoridad Portuaria, son los siguientes: «La Autoridad Portuaria de Baleares», «Reforma interior del puerto de Eivissa: un puerto para el siglo XXI» y «Los puertos de Eivissa y la Savina: ordenación y usos». Las inscripciones se pueden tramitar hasta el 12 de mayo a través del correo electrónico comunicacio@portsdebalears.com.

The Norwegian Epic will make stopovers during the entire high season of 2011 in the port of Palma

18/03/2010

Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) has returned from the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Miami, the international trade fair for the sector of the world's most important cruise ships, with confirmation by the Norwegian Cruiser Lines (NCL) of weekly stops of its Norwegian Epic at the port Palma during the peak season of 2011. This is the new cruise ship that the U.S. company is building is set to be launched this summer. With a length of 329.5 metres and capacity for 4200 passengers, it will become the largest of its fleet and will stop every week from April to October in Palma's port. In addition, Royal Caribbean has also confirmed the weekly presence of its ship, Adventure of the Seas, with over three thousand passengers, in the ports of Palma and Ibiza during the 2011 season. Furthermore, AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises continue their weekly ports of call through the winter of 2011-2012 in Palma.

The APB tenders the new access road to Cós Nou at the Port of Maó

15/03/2010

The APB (Balearic Islands Port Authority) has tendered the works for the building of the new access road from the highway of La Mola to Cos Nou in the port of Maó, with a contract budget of over three million euros and a maximum execution period of five months. Following the publication in the Official Gazette (BOE) announcing public tender for the works, a deadline for submitting applications was set for April 12th. The opening procedureof the submitted tenders will take place on April 16th at the headquarters of the APB in Palma.

The APB calls for tenders for extensions of the Poniente docks in the port of Palma

15/03/2010

The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) has tendered the works for the extensions of the Poniente (western) docks to make berths for large ships in the port of Palma, with a contract budget of more than thirty-six million euros and a maximum period of execution of sixteen months. Following publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and the Official Journal of the European Union (DOUE) of the announcement of the public tender for the works, the deadline for submitting applications was set for next April 29. On May 6 the submitted tenders will be opened at the headquarters of the APB in Palma.

The APB anticipates approximately 800 cruise ship visits and over 1.4 million passengers for 2010

24/02/2010

The APB (Balearic Islands Port Authority) expects 778 cruise ships and 1,475,000 visitors in transit through its facilities in the ports of Palma, Mahon and Ibiza during 2010, making this the best season in the history of the ports of the Balearic Islands. Specifically, in the port of Palma the current prediction is for 559 stopovers and about 1.3 million cruise passengers in the port of Mahon 118 stopovers and 100,000 cruise passengers and finally, 101 stopovers and 115,000 passengers in port of Ibiza.

The TSJB confirms the concession of the dry dock at the port of Palma to STP

23/02/2010

The High Court of Illes Balears (TSJB) has confirmed the grant, by the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB), to Port Technical Services Company, Inc. (STP) for the concession of the shipyard of the port of Palma, after rejecting the application for judicial review submitted by Boat Yard Palma, SL. In effect, the sentence issued by the Division of Administrative Litigation of TSJB is in accordance with the legal decision rendered on 25 October 2006, by which the APB awarded the contract for the operation of the facility for shipyard services and boat launching in the commercial docks of Palma harbor to STP. The Court stated that "against this sentence there is no room for common appeal."

First unloading of fuel at the Naval Base in Port Maó

04/02/2010

The tanker Mar Rocio was today, the first to utilize the new facilities for the discharge of liquid fuel that the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) built at the naval base of Port Maó and which involved an investment of 2.4 million euros. With this new infrastructure, the port of Maó can accommodate tankers of greater length and load capacity, which will substantially reduce the number of stopovers at the port throughout the year and also eliminate the traffic of fuel-laden tanker trucks in the port area. The fuel unloading facilities were built at the naval base of Port Maó, thanks to an agreement signed by the Ministry of Defence, the Government of the Balearic Islands, the Council of Minorca, Maó City Council and the APB.

The PAB freezes and reduces port fees to cushion the effects of the economic crisis

01/02/2010

In 2010, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (PAB) will freeze five of the seven taxes it collects from the ports of general interest it manages in the Balearic archipelago and implement a reduction in the other two, as a measure to help alleviate the economic recession. This action is taken in compliance with Law 26/2009 of 23 December, the General State Budget for 2010 and Law 48/2003 of 26 November, the economic regimen and the provision of general services of the major ports. Specifically, quotas will be maintained for fees for special usage of port facilities B1, B2, B3 and B5, which refer to ships, passengers, cargo and pleasure boats, and the rate of maritime signalling services, B0. In addition, during 2010 there will be a reduction of 0.7% on the fee for special usage of the public domain in the exercise of commercial, industrial and services and of 0.6% on the fee for private occupation of the public domain of the port.

Granted the operation of a cement silo at the Port of Alcudia

01/02/2010

The PAB has granted for a period of 15 years, the operation of a storage facility and the distribution of cement on the Ribera dock at the port of Alcudia, to Sitges Reunides SL. The company will occupy a ground lot of 1,976 m2, 162 m2 of underground surface, plus 16 m2 for the unloading facility on the service area dock

Ferrovial to build docks in Botafoc in the port of Ibiza

04/08/2009

The technical committee responsible for evaluating the bids submitted to the open tender for the construction of the proposed esplanade and commercial docks protected by Botafoc in the port of Ibiza, has chosen the joint venture of UTE as the best technical offer out of the nine candidates presented. This joint venture is formed by Ferrovial Agroman S.A., Construcciones y Estudios S.A. and Construciones Llull Sastre S.A. The winning bid submitted by the UTE, headed by Ferrovial S.A., is a variation of the original draft, resulting in some technical modifications, as well as a reduction of 17'2% of the tender of 93.8 million euros, including VAT. This establishes a proposed budget of 77.7 million euros, including VAT. Due to this technical alternative to the original project, a new agenda has been formed. The Bureau of Contractors will bring the proposal before the president of the PAB, Francesc Triay. From this point there will be a period of one month for the signing of the construction contract. Subsequently, the Ports of the State must approve the proposed variation presented by Ferrovial S.A.. In this way, it is estimated that construction could begin in December. The projected deadline for the execution of the construction is twenty-two months. First stage The objective of the proposal is the construction of a 63.000m ² esplanade and two quays, 200m long and 30m wide, resulting in a total gain of 75.000m ² of surface area over water. This is the first step towards the future construction of a space suitable for traffic of regular passenger ferries and general cargo, away from the urban center and providing sufficient security guarantees. In this area, plans are underway to build a new ferry terminal, which will have elevated walkways for embarkation and disembarkation of passengers. There will also be areas zoned for loading and unloading of merchandise and vehicles, as well as parking. It will facilitate the general improvement of the port of Ibiza and will feature a new ferry terminal for passengers bound for the port of La Savina, the modification of the existing promenade and the reorganization of services in the port.

PAB requests that the Ministry of Culture immediately invites UNESCO to visit the port of Ibiza

14/07/2009

The chairman of the Port Authority of Balears (PAB), Francesc Triay, has requested the Ministry of Culture, through the State Ports, to invite without delay, the committee from UNESCO, to assess whether the projects designed for the port of Ibiza will affect "Ibiza, biodiversity and culture", declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. It was also emphasized that the PAB had no official knowledge of the agreement adopted in Seville in late June by the Heritage Committee of UNESCO, broadcasted yesterday by the GEN-GOB at a press conference in Ibiza. The PAB made it clear that it has always strictly followed the procedures necessary to carry out the internal expansion and reforms of the port of Ibiza. Accordingly, it was pointed out that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was approved by the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Environment in June 2008, which granted a hearing and the opportunity to file allegations during the process of public information. Detrimental delay The PAB believes that none of the property under the protection of the declaration of Ibiza World Heritage Site is affected by the proposed extension and internal renovation of the port. UNESCO was informed of this in a letter dated April 16, 2009. It is therefore seeking an urgent visit by experts from the World Heritage Center, IUCN and ICOMOS to the port of Ibiza in order to clarify the project in detail and to defend the condition of protected natural area. The PAB will do everything in its power to ensure that there are no more delays in the schedule of renovations at the port of Ibiza. A further setback would be detrimental not only to maritime shipping, but also to all residents and visitors to the Pitiusas, as well as to the image of the main entrance to the island of Ibiza.