AENIB wishes you Merry Christmas and a happy 2023
Dear friend, I´m getting in touch with you to wish you personally, and on behalf of AENIB, a Merry Christmas in the company of your family and loved ones, as well as a year 2023 full of prosperity, joy and dreams that will come true.
At the same time, I would like to take the opportunity to review all that has happened in the nautical sector in 2022, now that the year is about to end.
It has been a complicated year, no doubt. The brutal war in Ukraine has made itself felt not only in our hearts as we follow the drama unfolding out there, but also in our daily lives in the form of runaway inflation and economic uncertainty. This has added to the pandemic-related problems we were already suffering from: stock-outs, lack of supplies and logistical crisis.
However, in this unfavorable context, nautical companies in the Islands have shown that they have done their homework and have made preparations in time to overcome any obstacles. The Balearic nautical sector has been able to overcome a difficult situation, concluding a very good nautical season despite all the difficulties. In recent months, the Balearic Islands has strengthened its leadership in the domestic boat market by consolidating two out of ten boat registrations throughout the country, and three out of ten in the case of charter.
Not surprisingly, last March, both AENIB and the nautical companies of the archipelago had a prominent presence at the ANEN Nautical Congress, held in Valencia, where we demonstrated the ability of our islands to attract large vessels, thanks to our environment, infrastructure and specialized services. We also attended the Barcelona Boat Show, where, together with ANEN, we invited our partners to a breakfast meeting with the team of the Directorate General of the Merchant Marine, led by its director general, Benito Núñez Quintanilla, in which matters of interest to the sector were discussed.
Given the scenario of difficulties that I mentioned earlier, AENIB, representing the Balearic nautical companies, has increased its efforts during the year to give visibility to the sector in all kinds of forums, events and media, highlighting its potential and its muscle as one of the pillars of the economy of the islands.
Consequently, we actively collaborated in the organization of the Palma International Boat Show, turning our stand at the fair into a meeting point for professionals and companies in the sector, and offering a live painting show by the prestigious painter José Luis Mesas, for charity purposes.
We were also present, with our own stand, at the Vocational Training and Employment Fair (Fira de Formació i Ocupació) in Manacor, representing the nautical sector in this meeting focused on publicizing the employment and vocational training in different areas of the local industries. AENIB highlighted the nautical sector as one of the corner stones of the Balearic economy and a sector full of professional and training opportunities of high added value.
As a result of our participation in the fair, the Institute of Professional Qualifications of the Balearic Islands (IQPIB) of the Ministry of Education contacted our organization, recognizing it as the main intermediary representing the Balearic nautical sector, to inform us about the new procedure for evaluation and accreditation of professional skills acquired through work or training courses without official qualifications, information that we passed on to the nautical companies.
At AENIB, we consider vocational training and professional qualifications to be strategic lines of action for the sector, and we will continue to support them unwaveringly. We will continue to work discreetly in this field, hopefully being able to announce some news on this subject very soon.
On the other hand, we continued reaching out to the different areas of public administrations in order to collaborate in initiatives that benefit the nautical sector. For example, we actively supported the summer campaign of nautical safety by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. Under the slogan "The sea is immense. So is the responsibility", the campaign was aimed mainly at users of jet skis and small boats and involved increased collaboration with the Guardia Civil, in charge of controlling navigation certificates and anchoring areas authorized by the Maritime Authorities, among other competencies.
We are also very proud of the media impact of our actions for the benefit of the nautical sector throughout the year. We have given the industry´s view on issues that affect us, such as exclusion of boating from the discounted fuel, the Port Authority taxes on the works carried out in the port areas, abusive clauses or the reform of the Paseo Maritimo in Palma. Thanks to the intensified media coverage, the opinions of the sector have been heard in the society and in the public administrations.
This year, in addition to good news and new additions of nautical companies to our association, we have also had to mourn the loss of very dear people in the sector, such as Fernando Lesmes or Juan Sastre who dedicated their lives to nautical industries at the head of large and emblematic companies. I want to take this opportunity to reiterate our condolences to their families, especially to our dear friend and collaborator Margarita Clar, as well as to José Luis Sastre.
Finally, you may be wondering why we send you an electronic Christmas card instead of a traditional one in paper. Well, I assure you that it is for a good cause, since the savings that we´ll make by sending you our good wishes electronically will be invested in supporting the regatta “Proyecto Hombre – Alcudiamar Trophy”, as we did already last year. The annual solidarity regatta for ORC/RI cruisers takes place in June, the benefits of which are destined to finance the Proyecte Home Balears.
Without further ado, I would like to thank you for your support to AENIB during this past year. I pledge to continue working for the benefit of the Balearic nautical sector, convinced that the sector has a bright future ahead and wishing you Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year 2023.
Jaume Vaquer, President of AENIB