The pleasure boat rental business in Ibiza, known as nautical charters, has flourished in recent years, but those involved face a real challenge when looking for a place to moor due to the lack of availability in the island’s ports. For this reason, many choose to leave their boats anchored along the coast, sometimes in areas where this is not permitted.
Now, Ports de les Illes Balears, an agency under the Balearic Government’s Department of the Sea and Water Cycle, has warned that the deadline to apply for one of these provisional mooring spots is running out. In addition, in Sant Antoni—one of the most sought-after areas on the Ibizan coast thanks to its privileged location—the pressure on available berths is especially high.
Ports de les Illes Balears (PortsIB) reminds users that December 31, 2025, is “the deadline for requesting new temporary authorisations under list 7ª in the ports directly managed by the public entity, aimed at holders of current authorisations that expire on that same date”. It should be recalled that the ports of Ibiza and La Savina, the latter in Formentera, are state-managed through the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands.
As established by Decree 11/2011 of February 18, the new application process “applies to holders of temporary authorisations for the use of base moorings currently in force at the following port facilities”. The decree details the distribution by island and mooring points: Sant Antoni de Portmany (221), Andratx (28 mooring places), Banyalbufar (29), Sant Elm (5), Ciutadella (113), Fornells (63) and Portocolom (39).
PortsIB also reminds users that applications “are available through the electronic headquarters of Ports IB (https://portsib.sedelectronica.es) and can also be submitted at the central offices of Ports IB (C/ Vicente Tofiño, 36 – Coll d’en Rabassa – 07007 Palma)”.
To facilitate the process, Ports IB recommends “carrying out the procedure online through its electronic headquarters”.
In any case, the agency specifies that “users who prefer to submit their application in person must do so at the central offices of Ports de les Illes Balears before December 31, 2025, or through any of the means provided for in Article 16.4 of Law 39/2015 of October 1 on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations”. It also warns that holders of authorisations who do not exercise their right of first refusal within the established deadline “will lose the assigned berth, which will then be vacated”.