The Civil Guard has detected on La Barrilla beach a "pirate company" that was "profiting" by acting as a diving center, despite not having authorization to carry out dives or being registered as a diving activities club. The agents discovered it on March 18, when carrying out a series of inspections of a total of 13 diving centers on the island. In these reviews they also found irregularities in 4 other centers located in the municipality of Tías. All of them have been administratively denounced.
That "pirate" company on La Barrilla beach, on the one hand, would have violated the decree that regulates recreational diving teaching centers in the Canary Islands by not having authorization and, on the other hand, the Sports Law, by not being registered as a club either. "We have reported to the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate for carrying out the activity for profit without having any type of authorization", the Benemérita has explained in this regard. According to them, now it will be Labor who decides on possible sanctions or even if it is pertinent to divert the actions to the Vice-Ministry of Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands.
It is the Special Group for Underwater Activities of the Civil Guard who is in charge of carrying out these inspections. On this occasion, they went to 13 diving centers in Yaiza and Tías, finding irregularities in 5 of those inspections. Thus, in another 3 centers, also located in the municipality of Tías, the agents found infractions in the oxygen cylinders, which had not passed the "contrast" or "hydraulic" tests. These are inspections that are carried out every 3 years, "filling" those bottles with water to ensure that they do not have "leaks or losses". Upon finding these irregularities, the Civil Guard processed administrative complaints in the three centers, which face sanctions.
In addition, the agents of the GEAS discovered in another diving center a total of 24 oxygen cylinders that had not passed the visual inspection. This technical test, the Benemérita points out, must be carried out annually by a company authorized by the Ministry of Industry. Also in this case, an administrative complaint was processed and the center faces sanctions.
Finally, within these inspections, the GEAS agents were on March 18 controlling those who were preparing to carry out recreational dives in Playa Chica. They asked all of them for their sports diving qualification, which they remind is "mandatory". They found up to 20 people who did not have that permit. "They were invited to leave" and were not allowed to submerge, they point out, although they did not fine them.
This is not the first time that the GEAS has found irregularities in diving centers in Lanzarote. Last July, the agents inspected 4 centers, of which only one complied with all the regulations. From the inspections of the remaining three, a total of 12 administrative complaints were derived for various infractions.
