IALACOLREG
Academy
Create a free account to save your progressSave your progress
My modules›M15 Law and watchkeeping›23. Spanish maritime administration

Spanish maritime administration

Next lesson

Law and watchkeeping

Capitanías and port authorities

Think of it as safety at sea versus work inside the port. The Capitanía covers the first, the Port Authority the second, and some decisions need both.

Decide

Question 1/1

A ship wants to anchor in the Spanish territorial sea, in water outside every port's service zone (the area assigned to a port). Who can authorise it?

The lesson in plain words

  1. The Capitanía
    • A Capitanía Marítima (short: Capitanía) is the local maritime office.
    • The law puts one in ports, or groups of ports, with enough traffic or safety needs (RDL 2/2011, the Ports and Merchant Marine Act, art. 266).
    • Its head is the Capitán Marítimo, a shore official and not a ship's master.
    • A Distrito Marítimo is a local unit under a Capitán Marítimo (RD 638/2007, art. 11).
  2. What the Capitán Marítimo decides
    • Working under instructions from the Dirección General de la Marina Mercante (DGMM), the Capitán Marítimo authorises or prohibits ships entering and leaving Spanish maritime spaces (RDL 2/2011, art. 266.4.a).
    • The Capitanía also sets safety anchorage zones, can close areas to navigation and directs ship inspections.
  3. Clearance and the one exception
    • The navigation regulation, RONM (RD 186/2023), adds two points.
    • The Capitán Marítimo and the heads of the Distritos handle clearance, the permission to sail (RONM art. 3.1).
    • The Capitán Marítimo also decides entry and stay, with one exception: when a ship asks for assistance or refuge, the Director General de la Marina Mercante decides (RONM art. 3.2.a).
  4. Port or Capitanía?
    • Each port is run by a port administration.
    • In a State port this is the Port Authority (Autoridad Portuaria).
    • The Capitán Marítimo controls entry into Spanish maritime spaces.
    • The Port Authority controls entry into the port itself (Ley 14/2014, the Maritime Navigation Act, art. 7).
  5. Anchoring
    • The port's service zone is the area assigned to the port.
    • Inside it, the Port Authority assigns places to anchor.
    • The Capitán Marítimo sets safety anchorage zones and may authorise anchoring outside the service zone (RDL 2/2011, art. 266.4.b).
  6. Closing a port
    • The Port Authority orders a temporary port closure, but only after a Capitanía report (Ley 14/2014, art. 8.1).
    • The maritime administration can also propose a temporary ban on navigation (Ley 14/2014, art. 8.2).

Key data

Capitanía
RDL 2/2011, art. 266
Older texts
Capitán de Puerto means Capitán Marítimo (RDL 2/2011, add. prov. 3)
Entry to Spanish maritime spaces
Capitán Marítimo (RDL 2/2011, art. 266.4.a)
Entry to the port
Port Authority (Ley 14/2014, art. 7)
Port closure
Port Authority, after a Capitanía report (Ley 14/2014, art. 8)
Assistance or refuge request
Director General de la Marina Mercante (RONM art. 3.2.a)

Key points

  • The Capitán Marítimo is a shore official who heads a Capitanía, not a ship's master.
  • Capitán Marítimo: entry to Spanish maritime spaces. Port Authority: entry to the port itself.
  • A ship asking for assistance or refuge goes to the Director General, not the Capitán Marítimo.
  • Port Authorities run the port and its service zone. The Capitanía covers maritime safety beyond port limits too.
  • The Port Authority closes a port, but only after a Capitanía report.

Check what you have read

Question 1/3

Who orders the temporary closure of a Spanish State port to shipping?

True or false?

Decide each statement before you see the answer.

  1. A ship asking for assistance or refuge goes to the Director General, not the Capitán Marítimo.

  2. The Port Authority closes a port, but only after a Capitanía report.

  3. The Capitán Marítimo decides every request to enter Spanish waters.

  4. Port Authorities run the port and its service zone. The Capitanía covers maritime safety beyond port limits too.

  5. The Capitanía closes the port on its own.

  6. The Capitanía authorises every anchorage, including those inside a port.

Practice case & exam keys

Situation

At a State port, Ship A wants to anchor 3 nautical miles (NM) offshore, outside the service zone. Ship B wants an anchor berth inside it. A rising gale may justify closing the port. Ship C, 40 NM away, reports flooding in her engine room and asks for assistance and refuge. Who decides each point?

Show the answer

Ship A: the Capitán Marítimo (RDL 2/2011, art. 266.4.b). Ship B: the Port Authority, within the safety zones the Capitán Marítimo sets. Closure: the Port Authority, after a Capitanía report (Ley 14/2014, art. 8). Ship C: the Director General de la Marina Mercante, not the Capitán Marítimo or the Port Authority (RONM arts. 28.d and 3.2.a).

Exam keys

  1. Capitán Marítimo: entry and exit in Spanish maritime spaces, safety anchorage zones (RDL 2/2011, art. 266.4.a–b).
  2. Port Authority: entry into the port (Ley 14/2014, art. 7); anchoring and berths in the service zone.
  3. Port closure: Port Authority after a Capitanía report (Ley 14/2014, art. 8).
  4. Assistance or refuge: Director General de la Marina Mercante (RONM art. 3.2.a).

Finish this unit

When you've read it, answer three questions. Get all three right to finish the unit; opening the page alone doesn't count.

My notes for this unit

No notes