Officials in Majorca are waging yet another war on tourists amid plans to cut down the amount of party boats and cruise ships at the island’s main port.
The port in Palma, Majorca, is set to be restructured, after the Balearics Port Authority began its series of meetings earlier this week.
One part of the plan contemplates moving the industrial part of the port to the Dique del Oeste, meaning “less nuisance” for residents and tourists nearby.
In general, according to Antonio Ruiz, the president of the association, the plans “look very good”.
The association’s main concern is the issue of noise pollution, wishing for there to be greater use of ship-to-shore electric connections to cut cruise ship and ferry engine noise and emissions.
In May 2022, the Spanish island restricted the number of cruise ship arrivals a day to just three ships, with only one permitted to hold a capacity of over 5,000 passengers. Earlier this year, Majorca proposed the continuation of the strict cap and plans have already been approved following calls from politicians in Madrid to impose serious restrictions on cruise activity in Spain as a whole.
Palma currently welcomes over two million cruise ship passengers a year on Mediterranean voyages and the limit follows measures implemented by other European ports including Barcelona, Venice and Marseille.
They also insisted that something must be done about the party boats moored by the Paseo – the seafront area filled with yachts – which have been the subject of frequent complaints. The association has proposed that they be moved to a more remote location.
Party boats, also known as pontoon boats, involve large groups of people on one boat, with loud music and swimming, often causing disruption to other boats around them wishing for a peaceful sail or mooring.
In May 2023, officials said that police would be called in to break up parties if too much noise and chaos was caused, after the Spanish council said it would crack down on “floating discos” with heavy fines. Numerous complaints had been filed by residents who argued their peace and quiet was being destroyed by non-stop partying on boats moored by Majorca’s beaches.
In just one weekend, 20 boats gathered off a popular and were said to have blasted music for more than 12 hours, starting at 5pm and ending at 6am the next morning.
“This is a party organised to promote drunken tourism at sea and we fear that this will happen again,” one resident said.
Other proposals include a sustainable transport system in the area that meets the needs of residents, businesses and tourists. They also called for a reorganisation of traffic so that heavy trucks use the Via Cintura – a freeway that bypasses the city of Palma, built to reduce traffic in the city centre.
