Spanish maritime administration

The lesson in plain words

1. A shared public service
   • Rescue is a shared public service (RDL 2/2011, the Ports and Merchant Marine Act, art. 264).
   • The State and the other competent administrations provide it, and plans and programmes coordinate them.
2. The National Plan
   • The Government approves the National Plan for rescue and pollution response (Plan Nacional de Servicios Especiales de Salvamento de la vida humana en la mar y de la lucha contra la contaminación del medio marino) (RDL 2/2011, art. 264.2).
   • Sectoral and territorial programmes develop the Plan, and the ministry approves them (RDL 2/2011, art. 264.3).
3. Its three aims
   • The Plan coordinates the search, rescue and pollution response means of the different administrations and of public and private institutions.
   • It sets up a maritime traffic control system covering the whole coast, through regional and local coordination centres.
   • It also strengthens the existing means and trains the specialists who direct search, rescue and pollution response (RDL 2/2011, art. 264.2 a–c).
4. The Commission
   • The Comisión Nacional de Salvamento Marítimo is the coordinating body (RD 1217/2002, art. 1.2).
   • It coordinates the administrations involved, looks into incidents between them and reviews how well the plans and resources work (RD 1217/2002, art. 2).
5. Autonomous communities
   • Autonomous communities are Spain's regions.
   • Some took over maritime rescue in their statutes of autonomy.
   • They then carry out State rescue law in the territorial waters off their coast, including the power to punish breaches (RDL 2/2011, art. 264.5).
   • Regional plans must follow the National Plan's guidelines on mobilising and coordinating resources (RDL 2/2011, art. 264.2).

Key data

Key points

• The Government approves the National Plan; the ministry approves the programmes that develop it.
• The Plan's three aims: coordinate means, control traffic along the whole coast, strengthen means and train specialists.
• The Comisión Nacional de Salvamento Marítimo is the coordinating body.
• Regional plans must follow the National Plan's guidelines on mobilising and coordinating resources.

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Practice case & exam keys

Exam keys

1. 1National Plan: approved by the Government; three basic aims (RDL 2/2011, art. 264.2).
2. 2Comisión Nacional de Salvamento Marítimo: coordinating body (RD 1217/2002, art. 1.2).
3. 3Autonomous communities: State rescue law in territorial waters off their coast, including sanctions (RDL 2/2011, art. 264.5).