Maritime Administration in Spain: Structure and Powers

Posted on Oct 24, 2024 in Law & Jurisprudence

ITEM 3: MARITIME ADMINISTRATION

1.1. State Administration

Within the state administration, there are two main branches:

  • Central Administration: Formed by the Ministries in Madrid.
  • Peripheral Administration: Representations of the Central Administration in the Provinces.

The Constitution mandates that the Administration should be decentralized, extending its reach to the periphery. An example of this is the Harbor Master, representing the periphery of the Directorate General of Merchant Marine (DGMM), which is part of the Central Administration.

1. Central Administration

It has a single center of power: the Government, consisting of the President, Vice President, and Ministers.

The Central Administration is divided into departments or areas called Ministries, each headed by a Minister. Within each Ministry, there are various levels of authority:

  • Secretary of State
  • Assistant Secretary of State
  • Technical Secretary General
  • General Branches

Example:

  • Ministry
  • Minister
  • Secretary General of Tourism
  • Secretary General of Transport

In the maritime sector within the central government today, the powers primarily reside with the Ministry of Development (formerly the Ministry of Public Works and Transport – MOPT). Specifically, Article 86 of the Ports Act grants the following powers to the Ministry:

  1. Safety of life at sea and navigation.
  2. Maritime rescue and anti-pollution measures.
  3. Control of ship registration and flagging.
  4. Administrative concessions and authorization of shipping services outside the cases provided for by the Autonomous Communities (CC.AA).
  5. Control and conduct of inspections of all Spanish civil vessels from a technical, radio, safety, and pollution prevention standpoint.
  6. Management and control of maritime ports, straits, capes, etc.
  7. Registration and control of civil maritime personnel and the composition of civilian maritime vessels (minimum number of crew and their qualifications).
  8. Participation in the commission of lights and maritime signals.
  9. Penalties and fines in all these areas.

State Administration:

Central (Ministries) and Peripheral (Delegations)

Maritime Administration:

(State and Autonomous Communities)

Powers of the State Administration:

Central (Article 86 of the Ports Act – Ministerio de Fomento):

Directorate General of Merchant Marine (DGMM):

  1. Safety (of human life, vessels, navigation, etc.)
  2. Rescue (Salvage)
  3. Traffic (concessions, devices, navigation)

Directorate General of Merchant Marine

(Branches were divided into 3 general areas)

1. Subdirectorate General of Traffic, Pollution, and Maritime Safety:

Skills: Safety of Life at Sea, shipping, marine salvage, pollution and national clean water, vessel registration, vessel flag, vessel registration of any civil vessel, clearance of ships, management and maritime traffic control, etc.

2. Subdirectorate General of Maritime Inspection:

Competence: Technical inspection of the Merchant Marine.

3. Subdirectorate General of Shipping Policy:

Responsible for all matters concerning the Spanish state shipping.

4. Secretariat:

Responsible for personnel administration, finance, budgets of DGMM, and coordination with the various sea captains.

Peripheral Administration of the State

Delegates are the organs of the central government in the provinces.

Central Administration:

DGMM → Provinces: Harbor Master

The Harbor Master, as part of the peripheral administration, is linked to the General Secretariat for Transport Services through the DGMM. The 2nd and 3rd categories of companies depend on the 1st.

Structure of the Harbor Master

(1st category, 3 areas):

  1. Maritime Safety and Pollution
  2. Maritime Inspection of all boats
  3. Maritime Traffic Bureau (formalities to be performed by a merchant ship in and out of port), record (administrative record of Spanish ships and civilian ships), maritime personnel (each time a crew member joins a vessel, meeting the health requirements)

Functions of the Harbor Master

  1. Authorization of entry of ships into Spanish waters or waters where Spain exercises sovereignty.
  2. Determination of anchoring and maneuvering for reasons of maritime safety.
  3. Establishment of channels for entry and exit from ports for maritime security reasons.
  4. Setting criteria to be followed for safety reasons when maneuvering and berthing for ships carrying dangerous goods.
  5. For security reasons, requiring pilotage and towage in Spanish territorial waters, determining the necessary presence of the pilot.
  6. Supervision of the technical inspection of Spanish civil vessels.
  7. Other responsibilities of the Harbor Master include checking the rules on engagement of the crew and supervising the investigation of maritime accidents.