FEAPDT calls for a reduction in the T-0 fee for foreign vessels

Good news for the nautical sector in our country. The fee will be lower from 2015 and the charging system for T-0 navigational aids fee will be changed. The proposal for this change has come from the Spanish Federation of Sporting and Tourism Ports (FEAPDT), promoted by its president, Gabriel Sandoval, along with the team led by Jaume Prats of Barcelona Advocats, a company associated to Barcelona Nautical Cluster

The approval of the Spanish State Budget for 2015 led to a substantial modification of Article 240 of the Law on State Ports and the Merchant Navy. This article referred to the formula for calculating the full rate to be paid by non-Spanish yachts staying in Spanish waters.

Up to now, such vessels were obliged to pay 20 % of the T-0, corresponding to a period of 30 days, when entering any Spanish port, even if the stay was shorter. The extremely complex payment system made it hard to monitor, since payment afforded the right to berth in other Spanish ports but often in fact required a further payment for the same 30-day period.

With this amendment, vessels must continue to pay this fee but the payment system has been adjusted to charge them only for the actual days spent in Spanish territorial waters. Thus, non-Spanish motor-powered vessels longer than 9 metres (12 metres for sailboats) will pay € 0.025/m² per day, while vessels based in a Spanish port will pay € 9.12/m² per year. Non-Spanish vessels less than 9 metres long will pay € 0.063/m² per day, while those based in a Spanish port will be charged a single payment of € 22.80/m² per year.

In the long run, this change will reduce costs for foreign vessels and serve as an incentive for them to come to Spanish ports. This change in the rules will also benefit concession-holders (marinas), which were responsible for collecting the T-0 fee. The new system will make it easier to calculate the charges for vessels passing through and will simplify collection, as the contributor will be easier to identify and will no longer need to justify previous calls at other ports. 

Regulating the navigation aids fee has been, and continues to be, one of the most controversial pieces of legislation and one of the hardest to enforce in recent years in the nautical sector. These changes will help to increase foreign vessel traffic in our marinas and should have a positive socio-economic impact of sailing tourism.

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