Deficiencies detected in the moorings and pontoon of Estany des Peix

The president of the Consell Insular de Formentera and coastal councilor, Llorenç Córdoba, commissioned a report on the state of the ecological moorings and the floating pontoon of Estany des Peix, as recent storms damaged the gangway and caused a number of boats to come loose from these moorings.

The conclusions of this report are now known, thanks to the fact that a group of divers have checked the state of the ecological moorings, carried out load tests and prepared a detailed study of the situation. As Córdoba explained, with this report "we now have real and updated information on how everything is and a series of recommendations to make anchoring, both in the ecological moorings and on the pontoons, much safer and to avoid, as far as possible, with the infrastructures we have inherited, any more problems".

The work, which was carried out by a team of five divers with a support boat, consisted of checking all the mooring points on buoys in low-impact anchorages, the mooring points on pontoons, as well as the structure of the pontoon and its anchoring elements to the bottom.

Although the bad weather during the data collection has made the measurements longer, load tests have been carried out at random points of the moorings, which consisted of placing lifting balloons with two tons of pulling force directly on the anchor.

Data sheets were drawn up for each mooring point and video images were also taken of each point. In addition, the wear and tear of all the elements (buoy, chain, anchor, segments) was checked.

With the data obtained, a report has been drawn up with the deficiencies found, as well as a series of proposals and corrective measures to improve the safety of the installation.

"With the results of this report, the Department of Coastal Affairs will be able to carry out all necessary actions to prevent a repetition of the events of recent storms," says the Formentera Council.