The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has issued a ruling of great relevance for maritime safety in Tenerife. The Administrative-Contentious Chamber upheld the appeal from the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Maritime Captaincy, revoking a previous ruling that allowed the Pilot Corporation of the Port of Los Cristianos to operate with a vessel that did not meet the minimum technical requirements.
The legal conflict centered on the vessel, which, according to reports from the maritime administration, lacks the necessary technical suitability to provide pilotage services. The court warned that the use of this vessel in the Port of Los Cristianos poses a very high risk of death and serious injury, invalidating the presumption of suitability that the company intended.
The ruling details serious structural deficiencies in the boat, highlighting that its length of 6.45 meters is below the 7.25 meters required by the current specifications. Furthermore, it was established that the vessel lacks a deck, a critical element for the safety of the pilot during the approach and transfer maneuver, in which the boat must lean against the hull of merchant vessels under the pressure of waves and wind.
The TSJC also firmly rejected the pilots’ attempt to validate their vessel using a certificate issued at the Port of Palamós. The court deemed it ‘unsustainable’ to compare a Mediterranean port with an Atlantic one, emphasizing that the navigation conditions in Los Cristianos require more robust equipment. Additionally, it clarified that registration on List 5 does not automatically qualify a vessel for pilotage, an activity that requires additional safety measures due to its inherent risks.
The judicial ruling establishes that the competence of the maritime authority to ensure the safety of human life at sea prevails even in the absence of specific published specifications. As a result of this ruling, the costs from the first instance have been imposed on the Pilot Corporation, thereby closing the door to the use of precarious means in the port maneuvers of Tenerife.
The Chamber dismisses the argument from the Pilot Corporation regarding the validity of certificates obtained in other jurisdictions. The ruling concludes that the registration of a vessel on List 5 does not guarantee its suitability for pilotage on its own, as this specific activity requires additional construction conditions due to the impacts and pressures that the boat must withstand when leaning against the hulls of merchant vessels in rough seas.
News written by Gara Vega. Edited and verified by Pedro Marrero. Information cross-checked without institutional filters. This analysis has not been funded by official advertising nor conditioned by lobby interests.
