The Balearic nautical sector praises the work of Salvamento Marítimo to keep Balearic waters safe

"The Balearic Islands is one of the safest nautical destinations in the world, and it is thanks to the work of Maritime Rescue (Salvamento Maritimo), whose quiet work allows sailors to relax and enjoy the sea knowing that, in case of emergency, a large team of superbly trained and equipped professionals is watching over their safety," says Jaume Vaquer, president of the Association of Nautical Companies in the Balearics, AENIB. "In the nautical sector, we are very grateful for the important work they do," he adds.

Team and resources

"The team consists of between 80 and 90 people, 15 of them controllers and the rest are crew members of the different rescue vehicles we have: six rapid intervention boats that are in Ibiza, Puerto Portals, Porto Colom, Alcúdia, Ciutadella and Mahon; an itinerant maritime rescue vessel; two 7.5-meter launches managed by the Red Cross, one in Sant Antoni in Ibiza and the other in Puerto Sóller; an imposing helicopter based in Son Sant Joan, with the crew housed in the hangar and, in summer, the additional reinforcement of a 31-meter Guardamar maritime rescue patrol boat," explains Miguel Félix Chicón Rodríguez, head of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Palma, which manages all operations in the Balearic Islands. "To this must be added the resources of Maritime Rescue on the mainland, as well as those of the Guardia Civil, the Navy and the rest of the State's security forces, which can be mobilized in case of need, as happened with the rescue of the Sorrento ferry in 2015," he adds.

"The center's 15 controllers, all of whom have advanced degrees in Merchant Marine, maintain a duty schedule 24 hours a day, attentive to the receipt of any distress request, whether through the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), other types of analog radio alerts, sightings of flares, calls from state security forces, from individuals who have witnessed an emergency, or from 112 or the free maritime emergency telephone number 900 202 202," he says. "Once the warning is received, we gather all the information and activate the means we consider most appropriate, assessing the situation in a few moments," he says.

Heavy workload

Miguel Félix Chicón explains that the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center of Palma "is undoubtedly the one with the heaviest workload in Spain, due to the large number of sailors here. We attend around 600 emergencies annually, with special incidence in recreational boats more than in professional ones (between 85 and 90% of emergencies correspond to recreational boats, compared to 55 or 60% on average in Spain as a whole). The incident rate rises in summer, from about 15 or 20 incidents in January to around 150 or 160 in August," explains the head of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Palma.

He assures that "this year we are catching up to the 2019 levels, after an anomalous 2020 in which only 530 incidents were recorded, due to the impact of Covid, compared to 630 in 2019. As of August 26, 2021, we have recorded a total of 468 incidents so far this year."

As for the most common incidents, there are plenty of "drifting vessels due to mechanical breakdowns of various kinds (dismasted sailboats, broken sails, steering failures, lines entangled in the propellers, rudder or engine problems,...), followed by stranded vessels". He also highlights "the fires, which although fortunately are few, can be very serious, because the fire on board is very difficult to extinguish, especially in fiberglass boats". This could be seen a few days ago in the yacht club of Palma, when the two hulls of the catamaran Argonaut burned down.

Safety tips

Chicón Rodríguez urges sailors to "take safety onboard very seriously, even when on vacation and relaxing. The sea is always an adventure, and we cannot take it lightly," he warns. "As the popular saying goes, 'he who watched, probed and distrusted, never lost his ship,'" he stresses. At this point, he offers some basic safety tips for recreational boaters.

• First, check the weather before setting sail, and be ready to cancel if conditions are not favorable.
• Secondly, always have the boat in perfect condition and prepared for seagoing, with everything lashed down. Even in calm weather, recreational sailors know that sometimes the swell caused by larger boats can give us a scare. If everything is securely fastened, we minimize risks.
• Keep constant watch. We are at sea, we cannot lose respect for it or relax, even if we are on vacation. We must be attentive at all times.
• Train the guests onboard in everything related to safety measures: how to deploy flares, how to use safety vests, radios, etc. We can practice even for fun. It is part of the adventure of sailing.
• Always start with full fuel and water tanks and have the phones fully charged.

Chicón assures that "people in general are responsible. Considering the large number of people sailing, incidents are relatively few. But we must always be attentive, constantly train ourselves, study the area in which we are going to sail, etc.," he urges.

Equally, just as the nautical sector owes enormous gratitude to Maritime Rescue for their work in ensuring the safety of navigation, Chicon emphasizes the role of the nautical sector in this work, which belongs to all. Thus, he emphasizes "the high quality of professionals and companies in the nautical sector offering services and work to vessels that have suffered any kind of mishap at sea. We often provide the sailors we help a list of companies that can give them a hand to get their boat back in shape. Their work is fundamental," he adds.

About Miguel Félix Chicón Rodríguez

Qualified as a captain in the Merchant Navy, Miguel Félix Chicón Rodríguez started sailing in 1978 and, after working as a merchant seaman for some years, he joined the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Palma as a controller in 1994. Two years later, he was appointed head of the center, and since then he is the main responsible for responding to emergencies that occur in Balearic waters, reporting to the Maritime Captaincies of the Islands.

From his position at the head of the Coordination Center, he has experienced major incidents, such as the rescue of the ferry Sorrento in 2015, with 159 people evacuated; the fire of the vessel Grande Europa near Cabrera in 2019, with 1,500 m3 of fuel oil onboard; the sinking of the 110-meter merchant ship Don Pedro in Ibiza waters in 2007, or the towing of the Rialto, which was adrift north of Menorca in 2004. This year, the two most serious incidents have been the recent grounding of a ferry between Ibiza and Formentera, the decapitation of a man in August in Ibiza when two vessels collided, and the grounding of a merchant ship on Migjorn beach in Formentera in June.