Recreational Boating in the Balearic Islands: the key issues that shaped 2025

The nautical sector is in constant evolution, and 2025 has once again been a year marked by regulatory updates affecting different areas of recreational boating in the Balearic Islands. In case you missed any of the legal developments throughout the year, here is a summary of some of the most relevant points.

Nautical Charter

For the past couple of years, boat owners and charter companies have been closely following the government’s proposal to allow a temporary change of use for vessels registered under List Seven (private recreational use). Resolution of July 22nd, 2025, published in Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE), allows privately used recreational vessels to operate commercially for up to three months per year, subject to several conditions: valid certificates, a change of registration list, insurance covering the activity and everyone on board, and the requirement that the activity be managed by a company rather than directly by the owner.

Although the measure was due to enter into force on August 15, the Balearic Government had already warned that this regulation could not be applied uniformly across Spain. The islands suffer from significantly higher nautical pressure and have limited carrying capacity, which requires strict planning and regulation. For this reason, the Balearic authorities approved a modification to the regional charter decree that prevents the state-level measure from being applied in the islands. As a result, nautical charter activity in the Balearic Islands cannot be carried out using vessels operating under a temporary change of use. The regional decree maintains the restriction that charter activity is limited exclusively to vessels registered under List Six of the maritime register, explicitly excluding those under List Seven seeking a temporary commercial status.

In parallel, and as a complementary measure, Ports de les Illes Balears (Ports IB) also approved a resolution expressly prohibiting the commercial use of vessels berthed in moorings granted for private use.

Additionally, throughout the summer, the Regional Ministry of the Sea intensified its focus on regulating nautical charter activity in order to curb irregular practices linked to passenger transport, illegal anchoring, or the pick-up of passengers at unauthorized locations.

Anchoring

Despite the vastness of the sea and the Balearic Islands’ abundance of high-quality coves and coastal landscapes, recent years have seen increasing discussion about “saturation” of the sea in terms of anchoring. This saturation, although never technically or scientifically substantiated, has become a recurring and subjective argument used by certain groups. While it may have served as justification for tighter controls on nautical charter activity, it has also been used to propose and develop alternative models to free anchoring in specific areas of the islands, often to the detriment of navigators planning cruising routes.

All sailors and users are well aware of the regulations prohibiting anchoring on posidonia seagrass meadows, and most respect the rule of not dropping anchor on these protected areas. However, the debate has intensified around the use of mooring buoy fields versus free anchoring on sandy bottoms. This issue escalated toward the end of the year with a legal appeal filed by the Mediterranean Navigators Association, supported by the nautical business federation and other entities, against the terms of the public tender launched by Ports IB for the management of buoy fields.

Even before this point, organizations representing navigators had already denounced the impossibility of anchoring in coves in the north and east of Mallorca, such as in the municipality of Manacor. This past summer, the local council took the decision to completely close navigation in all coves within the municipality, with the aim of improving swimmer safety. In response, the navigators’ association called for intervention by the Regional Ministry of the Sea and urged the inclusion of clear regulations on buoying systems in the forthcoming Integrated Coastal Management Law, rules that would balance swimmer protection with the free movement of responsible vessels.

Port Concessions

Without a doubt, one of the standout issues of 2025 has been the renewal of concessions for port facilities. After losing its space several years ago, the Club Molinar, and more recently, last year, the Club Náutico de Ibiza, uncertainty has dominated daily life in 2025 for the members and boards of the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the Club de Vela Puerto de Andratx, and the Club Nàutic Portitxol.

Nautical clubs in the Balearic Islands are the main gateways to the sea for a large part of society. Through sailing and kayaking courses, summer schools, regattas, and social events, they allow people to engage with nautical activities in an accessible way.

In the cases of the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) and the Club Nàutic Portitxol, the Balearic Ports Authority (APB) brought positive news toward the end of the year by granting extensions to their concessions. For the RCNP, this measure allows the club to continue operating in its current spaces until the extension and renewal of its concession title, amounting to a total of 20 years, are formally executed, in compliance with a ruling by the Balearic High Court of Justice.

Meanwhile, after submitting a remodeling project, the APB granted the Club Nàutic Portitxol a 15-year extension. The agreement also involves a modification of the concession to incorporate more than 12,000 additional square meters of water surface, enabling the reorganization and expansion of the club’s marina basin and nautical services.

To prevent clubs from losing their concessions, the Balearic Nautical Clubs Association (ACNB) has asked the Parliament to amend the Ports Law to include extensions for port concessions, with the aim of providing legal stability and ensuring the continuity of their social and sporting activities.