Sailors report the inability of mooring in the coves of Manacor

As reported by ADN Mediterráneo on its website, the Manacor City Council has implemented a highly controversial measure: a total ban on navigation in all the coves of the municipality. This decision, presented as an effort to improve swimmer safety and combat the alleged overcrowding of the coastline, nevertheless represents an unprecedented blow to the nautical sector of the Balearic Islands.

According to official data from the Balearic Islands’ rescue and lifeguard services for 2023, a total of 1,291 water rescue interventions were recorded, 28% more than in 2022. Of these, 902 were related to the swimmer’s lack of knowledge of the environment: 402 due to sea currents, 339 due to strong waves, and 161 for straying too far from the coast. Thirty-six of these incidents ended in fatalities.

By contrast, since 2019 only three deaths have been documented as being caused by motorboat propellers, and in all cases, the incidents occurred outside designated swimming areas. Adding to this is a particularly relevant fact: 80% of drownings in the Balearics happen in places without lifeguard surveillance, where nearby boats are often the only available rescue resource. These same boats, in properly marked-off areas, have never posed a direct risk to swimmers.

Thus, the organization states that banning access by sea could have the opposite effect of what is intended: increasing the use of private vehicles, with the resulting impact on traffic, the environment, and accessibility to coves and beaches, not to mention the negative effects on recreational boating.

According to the Association of Navigators, if the goal were truly to improve safety, the city council should focus on strengthening lifeguard services, especially in currently unprotected coves—and on designing smart buoy systems to prevent swimmers from drifting dangerously far from shore. As such, the Ministry of the Sea and Water Cycle should intervene and include in its upcoming comprehensive coastal management law a clear regulation on buoy systems, one that balances swimmer protection with the free movement of responsible vessels. All signs point to a unilateral action that fails to reconcile safety with orderly and sustainable coastal access, negatively affecting both residents and visitors, as well as the nautical sector as a whole.