The Special Group for Underwater Activities of the Command of Las Palmas has carried out a series of inspections in April, May and June regarding prevention and administrative control of several companies and diving centers in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.
The Benemérita indicates that the main objective of these inspections is to update the data of the diving centers and clubs of which the Civil Guard is aware of their operation, as well as to register the new ones that had been registered. These inspections are intended to verify that every club or center dedicated to diving activity complies with current regulations.
Lanzarote
In the month of April, an operation of inspections and control of diving centers was carried out on the island of Lanzarote, carrying out a total of 42 inspections among the diving centers and clubs, some of them in situ.
In this type of verification, the Civil Guard has the capacity to cover administrative control in the premises where the company or sports association is constituted, and control of the development of the activity in the place where it is carried out, usually in well-known diving sites, from the coast.
In total, 26 administrative infractions of various kinds were detected, such as lacking the boat's dispatch (3 infractions), lacking the authorization from the Vice-Ministry of Fisheries to Decree 35/2006, which regulates diving centers and underwater sports education (20 infractions), and another 3 infractions referred to Industry for lacking annual (visual) or five-year (contrast) inspection in bottles or compressor, leading to the sealing of a compressor in a diving center.
Fuerteventura
In the months of April and June, the GEAS of the Civil Guard traveled to the island of Fuerteventura, where they carried out a total of 15 inspections in diving centers located in different municipalities, in which they detected 6 infractions for lacking authorization from the Vice-Ministry of Fisheries, one infraction referred to Industry for lacking visual or five-year inspection in bottles or compressor, leading to the sealing of a compressor in a diving center, and a complaint referred to the Provincial Labor Inspectorate, for detecting a contract not in accordance with the activity being carried out.
Gran Canaria
In May, the GEAS was deployed on the island of Gran Canaria and carried out a total of 10 inspections, of which 5 infractions were detected for lacking authorization from the Vice-Ministry of Fisheries.
Summary of actions
From the data handled, and after concluding the inspections in the province, it can be seen that the most reported precept is the lack of the corresponding authorization to carry out the activity, issued in this Autonomous Community by the Vice-Ministry of Fisheries.
This is sometimes due to the fact that the centers do not meet the requirements at the documentary level and are in a period of correction, because the administration has authorized them positively through administrative silence and they do not have any document proving said authorization, or because they have not yet processed their request.
The complaints protected under the Industry Law (R.D. 809/2021, which regulates pressure equipment) are closely linked to safety in diving, since both compressors and bottles require specific maintenance and revisions to prevent accidents, and the consequences of these can be quite serious if they occur. Finally, the infractions linked to the Captaincy are due to the lack of relevant authorizations to captain professional boats or the documentation related to them (such as insurance, dispatch or ITB). It should be noted that this summary reflects the commitment of authorities to regulation and safety in diving activities, ensuring compliance with current regulations.