During the 5th Nautical Congress, representatives of the major political parties have expressed their willingness to support the demands of the sector... the nautical market has started the year with falls of the registration of recreational boats, which until February have a decrease of -11.70% in relation to the same period of 2016

The data of registration of recreational boats in Spain until February are still down, with a decrease of -11.70% over the same period last year. A total of 385 recreational vessels have been registered at the national level compared to 436 registered between January and February 2016. These are the data collected in the Recreation Boat Market Report (January 2017), edited by ANEN on the basis of information provided by the General Directorate of the Merchant Navy.

These are not good data for the sector that has just held in Palma the Fifth Nautical Congress, in which national deputies of the PSOE, PP and CIUDADANOS, and of PODEMOS for the Balearic Islands have participated. They have all agreed on the ability of the nautical sector to generate employment and productivity in our economy, especially because of its direct relationship with sectors as important at this time as tourism and because nautical is leading to a diversification of business with the creation of new companies, many linked to the technological field.

In terms of length, vessels up to 8 metres, which represents 83% of the national nautical market, register 320 vessels compared to 394 vessels registered between January and February 2016 (-18.8%). They grow the rest of the length. The segment between 8 and 12 meters by 10%, the length between 12 and 16 meters by 120% and exponentially increase the registration of vessels of more than 16 meters, from the 2 units registered in the same period of 2016 to the 10 enrolments made until February of this year (+ 400%). By type of boat, water motorcycles register -8% less than in the same period last year (with 46 registrations compared to 50 registered between January and February 2016). The motor ships also fall, -16.3%, with 190 registrations (227 registered in the same period of 2016). Folding pneumatic vessels lose a -28% enrolment and semi-rigid vessels grow by 1.4%. The candle maintains a positive performance in the year, with an increase of 8.3%, enrolling 39 units over the 36 reached between January and February 2016. The rental market continues to grow, in this period it has a + 13%, with 78 registration of ships for use of rent on the 69 of 2016. Of these, 53 (68% of the charter market) are ships up to 8 meters long, 8 are ships between 8 and 12 meters long, 11 are between 12 and 16 meters long, and 6 are more than 16 meters long.

By Autonomous Communities, Catalonia, Andalusia and Balearic Islands occupy the first positions of the market for recreational boats in January in the period analysed