Maritime zones and boundaries are legal frameworks and demarcations established to define and govern the jurisdictional rights and responsibilities of coastal states and international entities in relation to the world’s oceans. These zones and boundaries are crucial for regulating various activities, including navigation, resource exploitation, conservation, and security, in order to maintain order and stability in maritime affairs.
The maritime zones recognized under international law include internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the continental shelf, the high seas and the Area.
When it comes to Spain, here the recreational navigation zones have been established according to Spanish Ministerial Order FOM/1144/2003, dated April 28 2014. This regulation has slightly redefined and expanded the notion of navigation zones that existed before.
It’s important to know exactly for which navigational zone the boat should be registered in order to fulfil the exact requirements of every boat registered in the Spanish Ship Registry.
Let’s review the navigation zones
According to the latest regulation, there are seven navigation zones in Spain.
Zone 1: Oceanic area - formerly this was Zone A. This zone has unlimited navigation.
Zone 2: Open sea area - navigation between the coast and a line parallel from the coast of no more than 60 miles. Formerly Zone B.
Zone 3: Open sea area - navigation between the coast and a line parallel from the coast of no more than 25 miles. This is former Zone C.
Zone 4: Coastal navigation area - navigation between the coast and a line parallel from the coast of no more than 12 miles. This is a new zone.
Zone 5: Coastal navigation area - navigation 5 miles from the coast or harbour. This was formerly Zone D1.
Zone 6: Coastal navigation area - navigation 2 miles from the coast or harbour. This is former Zone B.
Zone 7 - Protected (internal) waters - This includes bays, port, and harbours.
Important difference between zones 2, 3, 4 and 5, 6
There is an important difference between zones 2, 3, 4 and 5, 6. Zones 2, 3 and 4 define limits between the coast and a line parallel from the coast while zones 5 and 6 limit the navigation by an arc from the port or harbour. This is important because if your boats happens to be designed for zone 5, you can sail if the distance between the ports or harbours is maximum 10 miles. For zone 6, the distance between the ports and harbours can not be more than 4 miles.
Navigation zones and boat design categories
In one of the previous posts I have described boat design categories. Now, when we understand navigation zones, we can see how design categories relate to navigation zones.
Category A - only boats with design category A can sail in zone 1.
Category B - zones 2 and 3 need at least boat design category B.
Category C - zones 4, 5 and 6 need at least boat design category C.
Category D - zone 7 needs boat design category D as a minimum.
Navigation zones and licensing
Final piece of the puzzle is to stablish a relation between navigation zones and required licensing. As you are guessing different navigation zones require different licensing.
Zones 6 and 7 - the first and very basic license that you can get in Spain is called “Licencia de navegación”, which means Navigation License. With this license you can sail in zones 6 and 7.
Zones 5 to 7 - to sail in zones 5 to 7, you need to get so called PNB (Patrón de Navegación Básica) license.
Zones 4 to 7 - for sailing between zones 4 to 7, you need PER (Patrón de Embarcaciones de Recreo).
Zones 2 to 7 - “Patrón de yate” amplifies your navigation range between zones 2 to 7.
All zones - finally “Capitán de yate” allows you to navigate in every zone.
While it’s super simple to get Licencia de navegación, getting “higher” licenses get exponentially complicated and expensive. In one of the upcoming posts I will decipher all existing licenses in Spain and what it takes to get each.
Let’s set sails and stay tuned!