The Club has recently been notified by our correspondent in Spain, INDECO Maritime and Transport Services, of new regulations regarding maritime traffic at the port of Barcelona during specific meteorological conditions.

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The Management Board of Barcelona`s Port Authority has approved, last June 2018, a new regulation with the aim to improve and make more effective the management of the maritime traffic. There are a series of restrictions to maritime operations in this regulation, depending on the meteorological conditions.

These restrictions are the following:

1. Visibility
   
   As a general rule and for safety reasons, no manoeuvres can be started when the visibility is inferior to half a mile. However, this restriction can be reviewed for certain kind of vessels, depending on the circumstances. The Port Authority will be able to elaborate an operative procedure in which the terms of this review will be set, once the Maritime Administration and the Pilot Corporation are heard.
2. Wind
   
   Because the wind is a meteorological agent that doesn`t affect all vessels the same way, since several variables must be considered such as the direction of wind, the pier orientation and the kind of vessel, a general rule is set and "Barcelona Port Control" must authorize the manoeuvre, once the Pilot`s Corporation is also consulted, in the following cases:
   • Winds over 16 knots, for gas vessels, because of their special characteristics.
   • Winds over 20 knots, for carrier vessels, because of the dead surface exposed to the wind.
   • Winds over 30 knots, for the rest of the cases.
3. Shutting down the Port
   
   The General Director of the Port Authority, after the Harbour Master Report on the matter, can order to close the Port and avoid the entrance of vessels, as well as to adopt all the necessary means to internationally inform of this.
4. Water under the keel
   
   In order to begin a manoeuvre, every vessel and craft must have a minimum amount of water under the keel during all the pathway planned or intended in the port waters. The technical services of the
   Port Authority will be able to assign to the piers a certain value according to the maximum admissible draft. The maximum draft will be determined according to the criteria established in this new regulation (Annex V).

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Source of Information

Loss Prevention / INDECO Maritime and Transport Services