Work by Rubén Díaz García de Sáez Abogados... in S & A we specialize in Sports Ports having a wide experience in advising both the Sports Ports themselves and people who are interested in acquiring some right on the moorings and other assets existing in the Ports

We refer in this article to a question that is more unknown than it might appear and which is the one concerning the procedures that must be carried out in order to acquire a right of use on a mooring of a Sports Port, as well as the rights and obligations that they derive for the Port and for the owner of the mooring.

A number of previous issues should be taken into account in this analysis:

First, it should be borne in mind that, generally, the points of mooring for recreational craft are located in administrative concessions granted by the State or Autonomous Public Administration to a private entity (concession entity) for construction and subsequent exploitation for a certain period of time.

Secondly, these port administrative concessions are governed by a regulation on the exploitation of the náutico-sports area which has previously been approved by the public administration which granted the administrative concession. Regulation governing the relations between the concessionaire and the users of the concession and which is binding on both parties.

Third, the services provided in the port concession (water and light consumption of the vessel, dry rise or repair of vessels, etc.) are governed by the rates in force in the concession and which have also been approved by the concession administration.

Fourth, the acquisition of the right of preferential use on a mooring is implemented by the signing of the relevant contract which contains the rights and obligations of the parties and which are essentially the following:

Rights of the holder of the mooring

The right of the holder of a tie is apparent. The right to use the point of mooring acquired in preference to any other port user.

Therefore, as long as the holder is using the mooring point, no other user can disturb the holder in its use and enjoyment.

In addition, these rights are normally acquired for a period of time consistent with the time limit for which the Administration has granted the concession to the concessionaire over the Sports Port. Therefore, for the duration of the concession, the holder shall be guaranteed the preferential use on his mooring.

However, it should be borne in mind that this right must be considered as in the time periods in which the holder does not occupy his or her mooring and, as it cannot be otherwise, the concessionaire is often entitled to have his or her mooring by renting it to third parties. And all this with the legitimate objective of optimizing the use of the moorings of the Sports Port. The holder of the mooring must therefore inform the concessionaire, as far as possible, of the time periods in which it intends to have its mooring.

The holder may also use the mooring for the stay of his boat, not for the stay of third vessels belonging to persons who have no rights to mooring.

Obligations of the holder of the mooring

The economic obligations of the holder of a tie are as follows:

• To pay the transfer price of the mooring

The transfer price is the amount fixed by the concessionaire for the acquisition of the right of use on the mooring for the entire concession period and must be paid by the person concerned at the time of its acquisition.

• Contribute to port maintenance costs

The acquisition of a preferential right of use on a mooring, unlike mere lease, entails an obligation for its holder to contribute regularly to the payment of the costs of maintenance and maintenance of the Port.

In this regard, payment of the transfer price does not exempt the holder from its obligation to contribute to the support of the Port. It could be said that the transfer price has its justification in the need to amortize the cost of construction of the Port while the periodic quotas are intended to meet the necessary investments that must be made throughout the Port once built and which are undoubtedly for the benefit of the users.

• To provide any additional services that may be requested

In the Ports a number of services are provided to the holders of the moorings and other users to allow them to enjoy the full enjoyment of their mooring and boat making the most of them and for their convenience.

Therefore, of course, the moorists will have to pay for the water and light consumption carried out by their vessels while they are tied in the Port or for the other services they request such as the dry rise or repair of ships, the launch or trailer of the ship or the diver service, among others.