The new Coastal Surveillance Service, known as “Sea Police”, presented by the Balearic Government on August 4, has not yet become operational due to the lack of a pending procedure before the Maritime Captaincy, an agency under the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.
The initiative included 22 new boats to reinforce the control of nautical activity on beaches and coves of the archipelago. Two of these launches are destined for Ibiza and Formentera, as advanced by La Voz de Ibiza.
However, the control service is not yet operational. From the Conselleria del Mar y Ciclo del Agua del Govern Balear, have confirmed that the implementation of the service is still pending administrative clearance by the Captaincy, although they assure that the registration procedures, insurance, equipment and technical reviews have been completed progressively since the arrival of the boats, as advanced by Última Hora.
In spite of this situation, the same sources of the Autonomous Executive emphasize that the surveillance of the coastline has not stopped, since inspection tasks have continued to be carried out using drones and other vessels owned by the Administration, in addition to maintaining coordination with the other administrations involved.
The “Sea Police
As La Voz de Ibiza advanced last June, the maritime surveillance corps contemplates 22 vessels acquired by Ports IB. Of these, 12 small ones will be used for management within the ports, while 10 larger ones will operate on the coast and along the coastline.
According to the general director of Ports and Maritime Transport, Antoni Mercant, two of these boats will work in Ibiza and Formentera, another two in Menorca and six in Mallorca.
The fleet will mainly monitor the buoy fields and nautical charter, with the ability to initiate proceedings when it detects activities without the required documentation. Although some have described it as a “police of the sea”, Mercant clarified that it is a service with a preventive and educational function, rather than a sanctioning one.
The boats will be owned by Ports IB, but will be managed by the public company Tragsa, and may embark officials from different administrations: from Civil Guard and local police to maritime transport or coastal inspectors.
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