The symposium “The new Spanish Shipping Act. Opportunities and threats to the Balearic nautical industry” was held in Palma de Mallorca last 13^th January, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca. The consequences of the aforesaid Act on the shipping industry operators were analyzed.

The event was opened by the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca (Mr. José Luis Rosales) and the Chairman of the Port Authority of Baleares (Mr. Joan Gual de Torrella) and was attended by representatives of the shipping and business industry.

Our Senior Associate Carlos Sanlorenzo joined the symposium on behalf of the Firm, where he analyzed the effects of the new Spanish Shipping Act on recreational boating and, particularly, tackled leisure chartering, sailing crafts, the registry of yachts and watercrafts. Additionally he dealt with the obligation to appoint a ship agent for foreign-flagged yachts.

Likewise, Carlos Sanlorezo highlighted the essential role played by ANEN (Spanish Marine Trade Association) in the drafting of the Spanish Shipping Act, since several demands of the nautical industry were handled by the Ministry of Justice. He ended up his participation emphasizing the importance and prominence of this Act to the nautical industry, since the legal text gives legal autonomy and, as a consequence, legal certainty.