Pedro Suárez, chairman of Puertos de Tenerife, speaks to the media this Tuesday in Brussels, where a joint document is presented from the ports of the outermost regions setting out its main proposals for the European Port Strategy. EFE/ Pablo Garrigós
New cruise passenger service rules take effect
The Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has formally approved the Pliego de Prescripciones Particulares del Servicio Portuario al Pasaje en Régimen de Cruceros (specific requirements for the port service for cruise passengers).
The measure, issued by Resolution of 30 June 2026 and published in the Official State Gazette under the signature of the authority’s president, Pedro Suárez, establishes uniform operating conditions for this sector at the port facilities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, San Sebastián de La Gomera, Santa Cruz de La Palma and La Estaca (El Hierro).
Key point: investment thresholds tied to license duration
One of the key points in the framework is the setting of criteria to determine when an investment is considered 'significant', a factor that directly affects the duration of licences. For rolling stock and equipment, the minimum thresholds required vary by port: 800,000 euros for the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 400,000 euros in La Palma, 250,000 euros in La Gomera and 150,000 euros in El Hierro. For major works and fixed installations or breakwater and wharf infrastructure, the required investments reach 2 million and 7.5 million euros, respectively.
Regarding the validity of titles, licences opened for general use without significant investment will have an ordinary duration of 6 years. This period can be extended to 10, 15 or 20 years, depending on investment in equipment and the link with maritime terminals under concession, and may reach terms of up to 30 or 50 years in cases involving major civil works executions and fixed infrastructure. With this framework taking effect, service companies will have an updated regulatory margin to operate under the economic, technical and protection solvency standards required at Tenerife’s port facilities.
Aligned with EU rules and the Ports and Merchant Marine law
The new regulatory text adapts to the framework set by EU Regulation 2017/352 and the recast text of the State Ports Law and the Merchant Marine Law. The framework’s final approval by the Board of Directors of the Port Authority took place on 25 June 2026, after the mandatory incorporation of the conditions and binding reports issued by the public body Puertos del Estado.
A regulatory framework for boarding, disembarking and luggage handling
The framework defines in detail the scope of the cruise passenger service, structuring it into two main operational blocks: on the one hand, embarking and disembarking duties, which include organising, controlling and providing access for cruise passengers between the maritime station or wharf and the vessel; and on the other, the loading and unloading of luggage, covering everything from reception on land and identification to transfer, stowage on board or delivery to the passenger.
The rules establish a system of free competition for obtaining specific licences, classified between licences open to general use and licences restricted to the scope of dedicated terminal facilities (including the self-provision modality). To ensure operability and safety at each of the province’s installations, the text sets out the minimum human and material resources required to operate at each port—such as mobile gangways, approved wheelchairs for people with reduced mobility (PMR) and billing counters—which must correspond to the volume of traffic handled.
The entry 'Entran en vigor las cifras del nuevo pliego para el servicio a cruceros de Puertos de Tenerife' was first published on canarymaritime.com.
