Ibiza declares war on party boats: “We will do everything possible to stop them”

“We do not want party boats in Ibiza Town and we will do everything in our power to stop them, with the law and municipal ordinances in hand and in collaboration with the Guardia Civil, the Balearic Government, Ports de Balears and the Harbour Master’s Office”.

Ibiza Town Hall has taken a firm stance on the issue of floating discos in the municipality and does not hide its desire to put an end to this type of party, although it acknowledges that preventing them goes beyond its area of authority. “From a legal point of view, we cannot ban something that happens at sea, as we do not have powers to legislate in the maritime domain”, it says.

It should be recalled that on 28 October, Ibiza mayor Rafael Triguero had already expressed his rejection of these activities in statements to Diario de Ibiza: “What party boats are generating is something we do not like and that neither Ibiza residents nor most of the tourists who come to the city want. In addition, they tend to be people with no social commitment to Ibiza, they generate a lot of dirt and put enormous pressure on both our coastline and our city”.

Another summer without the ecological buoy system in Talamanca

The mayor also stated that, “if Talamanca’s ecological buoys are not ready within the established deadlines, tougher measures will have to be developed, which could even include banning them”. However, despite the goal of having the ecological buoy system in place this summer to protect the Posidonia oceanica meadows, this has ultimately not been possible.

“The central government has been dragging its feet on this issue and recently said that it now has to be the Balearic Government that carries them out. They have made us lose precious time”, he lamented.

In this situation, Ibiza Town Hall has explained the measures it is taking in the absence of the ecological buoys: “We are increasing controls with a continuous presence in the area, monitoring and imposing sanctions where appropriate. In the end, as we do not have authority at sea, we can only act on land in accordance with the guidelines set out in municipal ordinances and the law on matters related to waste, activities or the use of infrastructure”.

“Two major control operations have already been carried out”

Even so, the council recalls that these checks are carried out in coordination with the other competent administrations. “Work is being carried out jointly both on monitoring anchoring and party boats, especially in relation to the boarding and disembarkation of passengers, illegal nautical charter activities — boats operating without a licence as though they had one — and the management of the waste generated by these vessels”, the Town Hall says. It adds that “two major control operations have already been carried out” recently.

Ibiza’s coastline is therefore facing another summer marked by pressure from party boats and illegal nautical charters, in a context in which Talamanca beach still lacks its ecological buoy system. According to the Town Hall, all this makes it necessary to strengthen coordination between the competent administrations in order to try to limit the impact of these activities on the municipality’s coast.

Concern over this type of vessel has also reached the nightlife sector. On Wednesday 24 June, the Ibiza Nightlife Business Association, AEON, called on the Balearic Government, the Consell de Ibiza, the island’s town halls and the Government Delegation to regulate the activity of party boats operating in Ibiza and Formentera as “floating nightclubs”, without being subject — according to the employers’ association — to the same obligations as regulated nightlife venues.