Sports Boating in Spain, situation and new legislation

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Sports Boating in Spain, situation and new legislation

Benito Núñez Quintanilla, Secretary of State for Air and Maritime Transport
Jordi Carrasco Abad, General Director of ANEN

Within the framework of the VI National Symposium held in Sanxenxo, a relaxed conversation was held about the challenges and opportunities of the Spanish nautical sector.

The state of the sector: numbers that speak

Spain currently has close to 200,000 registrations and 145,000 berths distributed across 365 clubs and marinas. The figures reveal that 80% of vessels are less than 8 meters, which gives an idea of the real profile of our nautical sector.

After the post-pandemic boom, the sector is experiencing a contraction in boat sales, charter and shipyards, although port occupancy remains very healthy. Nothing critical, but something that requires attention.

Tax reform: more than removing taxes

One of the hot topics is taxation. With 21% VAT and 12% registration tax, Spain leads the European ranking of tax burden on boating. But as Quintanilla explained clearly: “When you go to the Treasury to say you want to reduce or remove a tax, it’s like going to your father and asking if you can sin”.

The strategy is not to eliminate taxes, but to transform them. The idea is to replace the current registration tax (which only taxes the first purchase) with a more progressive system that is paid throughout the boat’s life and takes sustainability criteria into account. This would eliminate the entry barrier without reducing revenue and would reward boats that are more respectful of the environment.

Regulations in progress

Quintanilla detailed three key regulations in process:

1. Modification of the State Ports Law: Currently in Congress, it includes aspects such as vessel abandonment and a new regulatory framework for recreational boating.

2. Navigation Regulation: Already in force since the end of the nautical season, it introduces electronic administration, self-clearance and other digital procedures that will streamline management for the 2026 season.

3. Recreational Boating Code: Following the Italian model, work is underway to unify the 16 scattered regulations that govern the sector. A committee of experts will finish the work soon and then the public comment period will open.

Decarbonization: without dramatics

Both speakers agreed that, although the recreational boating sector contributes very little to global CO2 emissions (“it’s peanuts”, according to Quintanilla), it cannot remain on the sidelines of the energy transition.

The sector faces technological uncertainty: there is no single solution that works for all types of vessels. The future involves different propulsions for different uses: electric for short trips, hydrogen for other cases, and increasingly efficient combustion engines.

Yacht clubs have an important role here, adapting their infrastructures with charging points, energy self-consumption and reducing their own environmental footprint.

Concessions: the necessary balance

One of the most sensitive issues is that of administrative concessions for nautical spaces. Quintanilla was clear: “If we close access and turn everything into auctions for investment funds, we’re going to generate enormous social rejection”.

The water surface is a public good and must be managed with objective criteria, but those criteria cannot always lead to whoever pays the most. Social values, sports promotion and accessibility must be incorporated. As Carrasco explained, “roots” cannot be rewarded under European regulations, but technical solvency demonstrated over years of management can be valued.

Entry barriers and social boating

A crucial point that emerged in the debate is the social perception of boating. If it’s only associated with megayachts and Arab sheikhs, the sector is lost. Yacht clubs play a fundamental role as a gateway to the marine environment, especially for training and social boating.

As Carrasco recalled, who was director of a yacht club for 15 years, this social function must be present in concession specifications and in sector policies.

Infrastructure challenges

The sector has an infrastructure deficit, but solutions don’t necessarily involve building new ports. We need to be imaginative: redesign water surfaces, take advantage of spaces from retreating sectors (such as fishing in some areas) and optimize what already exists.

A sector with a future

Despite the challenges, both speakers conveyed optimism. The 2050 Maritime Strategy includes for the first time a specific axis for recreational boating, which represents important recognition of the sector.

ANEN’s Nautical Congress on March 12 and 13 will be a new opportunity to continue debating these issues. Meanwhile, there is work to be done: tax reforms that balance revenue with accessibility, clearer and unified regulations, and a concession model that doesn’t forget the social function of boating.

As an attendee from Club Náutico Sancti Petri pointed out, there are seemingly small but important details: simplifying issues like gas stations in modest clubs to prevent members from having to transport fuel in cans, with the pollution risk that entails. These are the details that make the difference between paper management and real sector management.

Conclusion

The talk made it clear that the future of Spanish boating is built with dialogue, balancing economic interests with social function, modernizing regulations without losing sight of the sector’s reality, and understanding that the water surface is a common good that must be managed with everyone in mind.

A special mention goes to Luis Enguita, a great collaborator of the sector, whose memory was present at the symposium.