Government states that port will have to close for 4-6 months

Ciutadella port to close for work if jetty not constructed

Ramon Llull. Lack of space for manoeuvring in port

More than half the length of the channel is neither wide enough nor deep enough to comply with safety regulations and needs dragging and widening

Christine Watterson.Maó

The Balearic Government announced last week that if the project to construct an exterior jetty in Ciutadella does not prosper, then various actions will need to be taken to ensure that the port complies with safety regulations and that, in order that these can be carried out, the port will have to be closed for between four and six months.

A preliminary report by the engineering company Siport XXI states that for more than half its length the channel is neither wide enough nor deep enough to meet safety requirements. To comply with the regulations, the channel will have to be dragged and the banks excavated (which will affect plots of villas on the front line); La Trona quay (the only point in the port for boats in transit to berth) will have to be demolished and the landing stage reduced by half; the wall of the commercial quay should be moved back some 20 metres, necessitating the demolition of both the quay and the wall. (The loss of the quay would reduce the number of moorings in the port, which are already oversubscribed, and the demolition of the wall would remove a barrier against the north wind making manoeuvres in the port more difficult).

The Balearic Port Authorities are not favour of these measures being taken in lieu of constructing an exterior jetty as they feel that, even when completed, the continued presence of commercial vessels within the port would still create safety problems; that the port would not be more protected; and that the disagreements between the shipping lines and pleasure boat companies over timetables would continue.

Town-planning Councillor, Marc Pons, has spoken out against the Government for creating unnecessary alarm, as he believes that the work can be done without closing the port for four to six months; he added that many ports had been dragged without having had to close.

This prompted a retort from the Government´s Director of Ports, Mónica Pozuelo, that there had been talk of closure because it would be necessary, as the narrowness of the channel means that boats entering the port take up the whole width and there would be no room to operate or manoeuvre if work was being done at the same time.

Disagreement between the various authorities seems likely to continue for a while as each appears to have its own view on the best solution for solving the problems in the island´s westernmost port.