The Monk Seal rescue vessel, which was donated by the Government of the Canary Islands to the Consortium to "cover and guarantee maritime safety in the southern area of the island", will now be used to monitor the surroundings of the new underwater museum. This is reflected in the agreement that the Centers have signed with Emerlan, with a duration of one year, for the "rescue and salvage and the precarious use of the Monk Seal vessel in the surroundings of the Lanzarote Underwater Museum".
According to that agreement, which was signed on March 1 by the CEO of the CACT, José Juan Lorenzo, the councilor Echedey Eugenio and the president of Emerlan, Isidoro Blanco Iglesia, the Cabildo will pay that entity 46,500 euros per year to take charge of these tasks. Specifically, Emerlan will assume the "maritime rescue, lifeguarding and assistance activities", taking charge of the "prevention, surveillance and attention of risk situations" in the museum's surroundings. Under the agreement, Emerlan assumes the rescue in "cases of urgency or danger to museum visitors" or "its own personnel" and also of people who may be affected by "accidents or other events arising in the surroundings of the underwater museum" and, in general, "any other type of assistance related to the rescue or lifeguarding of people in the surroundings of the underwater museum".
That agreement indicates that the Consortium "will provide its collaboration" in these rescue, lifeguarding and assistance tasks "through the transfer of the Monk Seal vessel, providing it with the necessary material for its proper functioning and for the correct development of the activities that Emerlan will carry out". The document obliges the latter entity to provide "duly qualified and trained" personnel to act as "crew" of that ship. Specifically, according to that agreement, a skipper, a sailor and a shift worker will crew the Monk Seal "365 days a year", from Monday to Sunday in "uninterrupted" hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, Emerlan will provide a Zodiac-type inflatable boat "with total availability and ready for immediate use", which will be permanently located in the Marina Rubicón port and will be used by those same crew members.
With regard to the Centers, the document indicates that they will provide the "corresponding personnel for the control and surveillance of the underwater museum during the hours of visits to it". The CACT will also take care of the "maintenance and repair costs" caused by the Monk Seal vessel.
An "underused" vessel
Despite the fact that when it was transferred by the regional government in 2013, the Cabildo stressed that the Monk Seal vessel was "highly anticipated and necessary", the councilor of the Centers, Echedey Eugenio, told La Voz this Thursday that the ship is "practically underused". However, according to the councilor, "reinforcing" this vessel with an inflatable boat "allows that when it is necessary that vessel leaves and the museum can also remain in conditions".
According to the councilor, the Monk Seal vessel "was in the dock due to lack of resources from the Yaiza City Council in this case and crew for the vessel". "It was used for occasional rescues, some sporting event, it was practically underused," he adds.
"We had a shortage and they covered a service, they also provide a service in Playa Blanca, so the economic part was more advantageous," Eugenio says about what has led the Centers to sign this agreement with Emerlan. According to what he has indicated, the CACT had considered other possibilities, such as hiring a company, "that the service was provided externally or that it was not associated with the security patrol they have in Playa Blanca". "What we have done is that the Tourist Centers assume this sea surveillance service during the museum's opening hours," he says, arguing that with this agreement "the resources that already existed are used".
The 46,500 euros established in the agreement that the CACT will pay to Emerlan will be paid through a monthly payment of 3,875 euros. The agreement states that its payment has the "sole purpose" of "contributing to cover the expenses of personnel and material resources" included in the document. Based on that agreement, Emerlan is free to select the personnel, as long as they meet the "qualification and experience requirements demanded", and will take care of labor issues. The agreement will be renewed "automatically" for periods of one year, although either party may terminate it early, provided that it does so with six months' notice.
