The Barcelona International Boat Show closed its 60th edition this Sunday with more than 50,000 visitors, 279 exhibitors, more than 700 boats and 80 new products, as reported by Fira de Barcelona. The event took place over five days at the Moll de la Fusta, at the Muelle de España and at the Marina Port Vell in the Catalan capital and had a 22% increase in offerings compared to previous editions and a 40% increase in exhibition space.
"This year's edition has once again put Barcelona on the map of national and international nautical. Likewise, we have acted as a driving force for sales in times of such uncertainty as the current ones," highlighted the president of the Boat Show, Luis Conde. In parallel, the director of the event, Josep Antoni Llopart, explained that this year "a step forward has been taken in the commitment to publicize innovation focused on sustainability, with the aim of stimulating the ecological transition of the sector."
The Fira de Barcelona show was attended by 400 key international buyers, who were able to see first-hand 28 large catamarans and 14 boats nominated for the European Boat of the Year award. In addition, this edition has served to promote the sustainability of the sector, showcasing various types of electric or hybrid boats that will contribute to accelerating the electrification of motorizations.
In the more sporting aspect, the fair was the setting for the presentation to visitors of the America's Cup that will be held in 2024 in the waters off the coast of Barcelona. Thus, the fair was attended by the New Zealand organizing team and by members of the Swiss team Alinghi, who are already training in the Catalan capital.
According to the organization, "it has been one of the best events in recent years thanks to the large influx of public registered, the quality of the offer and the business contacts established," which helps to reinforce the show as the leading and reference event in the nautical sector in Spain.
Presentation of innovations
During the five days of the fair, in the Innovation Dock space, 15 startups from seven countries have presented their projects for a more digitized and less aggressive nautical industry with the marine environment. For example, a small-scale vessel, similar in appearance to a car, that functions as a taxi, was on display. This is the project of the company Seabubble, which this year brought its first prototype of a maritime taxi to the show. Although it is an idea that had already been seen in previous editions, this company's proposal is marked by its sustainability, since the vessel is electric.
One of the promoters of this electric maritime taxi, Joan Company, explained in statements to ACN that the proposal involves "saving time and energy." The vessel can operate in calm waters and its main purpose is to connect towns or nearby areas, where the maritime route can be shorter than the terrestrial one. As an example, Company pointed out that this vessel could connect the W Hotel in Barcelona with Port Vell. Far from being a device aimed at maritime leisure, the project is focused "on the general public" and with the clear idea of promoting "connectivity."
Another of the innovative proposals seen this year at the Boat Show is that of the Valencian company Proteus, which has developed a remotely controlled lifebuoy with the purpose of "getting as soon as possible" to a person who is drowning in the sea. "The lifeguard, if they see a possible victim, does not need to get into the water; they can send the device and see what situation the person is in," highlights the company's CEO, Miguel Ángel Sánchez. In fact, the lifebuoy has a built-in microphone and speaker through which the victim and the lifeguard could communicate. In addition, it also incorporates a control that the affected person could use, if able, to direct themselves to a safe place.
For its part, SeatMó has brought to the fair a one hundred percent electric boat that it already launched as a novelty this summer on the island of Menorca with the purpose of promoting sustainable and shared mobility. It is a small boat, focused on the leisure public, which can be rented by days or weeks, and which is the result of a collaboration with the company Rebot Yachts, which is dedicated to electrifying traditional boats.
Regeneration of marine ecosystems
Among the sustainable projects presented at the Nautical Fair is that of Underwater Gardens, an initiative with a Catalan seal for the regeneration of marine ecosystems and which has the collaboration of the European Commission, within the framework of the Horizone Europe program. The project seeks to guarantee the conservation of marine ecosystems and what it does is evaluate and provide solutions according to the characteristics of each specific ecosystem. This set of solutions is what they call a toolbox, a toolkit designed with an international consortium of scientists. Among the solutions, the company's scientific deputy director, Laura Busquera, explains that, for example, the planting of seagrasses or making an in situ replanting on the existing rocks themselves is included. According to her, the idea is to offer an "integral regeneration", which involves coastal littorals, terrestrial littorals, as well as deep marine depths.
The founder of the project, Marc Garcia, adds that the idea arose from seeing how the resources offered by the sea are reaching "their limit", mainly due to climate change. Added to this is the fact that "the administration is not agile" when it comes to taking solutions, according to Garcia. "We must begin to regenerate, restore and multiply the capacity of the sea so that it can serve us," concludes the director of Underwater Gardens.