Scope
Governing: Decreto 44/2025, arts 1, 2, 4, 6 and 13 (BOIB 102, 2 Aug 2025; in force 3 Aug 2025). Builds on: nothing; start here.
One embarkation is enough
Decreto 44/2025 regulates the alquiler de embarcaciones y buques de recreo (hire of recreational boats and yachts) for sporting or recreational purposes in Balearic ports or points. It replaced Decreto 21/2017 and took effect the day after publication.
The trigger is geographical, not contractual. Art. 1.2 says the activity takes place in the Balearics whenever any embarkation or disembarkation uses a Balearic port or point, wherever the contract starts or ends. A yacht chartered out of Barcelona that picks guests up in Eivissa is inside the decree. So is a Palma-based boat that drops a party off in Maó on the last day.
Art. 6.5 adds the other half: a right to charter granted by another region does not carry over, although a boat on charter may still navigate through Balearic waters with origin and destination elsewhere.
CAUTION — "Disembarkation" is not defined A charter from the mainland that never lands anyone in the islands appears to fall outside art. 1.2. Whether running guests ashore by tender for dinner counts as disembarkation is not settled in the text. Treat any landing as inside the decree until told otherwise.
What sits outside the decree (art. 2)
| Excluded | Note |
|---|---|
| Craft of 2.5 m length or less | Everything above is in |
| Tenders and auxiliaries chartered with the main vessel | They still need identification (see Documents on Board) |
| Motos náuticas (jet skis) and floating devices | Own rules: RD 259/2002 as amended |
| Towed sports, flyboard and similar | |
| Diving by specialist companies | |
| Recreational fishing charter | Decreto 45/2024, but art. 3 of D.44 still applies |
| Training by nautical schools authorised in Spain | Challenged by the CNMC as discriminatory |
Two ways to charter (art. 4)
- Alquiler sin dotación (bareboat). The lessee must prove a titulación náutica (boating qualification) sufficient to command the boat. If they cannot, the lessor must not sign the contract (art. 4.2).
- Alquiler con dotación (crewed charter). The lessor supplies the crew as well as the boat. Whoever commands must hold the title required by current law, "mainly" RD 269/2022 on professional titles (art. 4.3). For boats up to 24 m that usually means the Patrón Profesional de Embarcaciones de Recreo (PPER); the detail is in Skippering Charter Guests in the Balearics and Spanish-Flag Charter Compliance.
Art. 13.1–13.2 repeat the point from the safety side: certificates and surveys in force, and everyone who commands or crews the boat properly titled.
Who else still has a say
The decree rests on the Statute of Autonomy (maritime transport between Balearic ports, recreational activity in inland waters, tourism and leisure). Its single additional provision preserves the powers of the Dirección General de la Marina Mercante (DGMM) and the Capitanías Marítimas. Art. 6.6–6.7 add that the declaration does not replace any other licence, and that coastal law, marine reserves, Natura 2000 sites, port authorities and harbour masters all still apply.
In practice you answer to two administrations at once: the Govern for the right to charter, and the state for the vessel, its crew and its despacho.
Vocabulary
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| arrendador / arrendatario | lessor / lessee (charterer) |
| embarcación / buque de recreo | recreational boat (≤24 m) / recreational ship (>24 m) |
| puertos o puntos | ports or points (any landing place) |
| dotación | crew |