Winds force Palma port closure

PALMA
THE port in Palma opened for business early afternoon yesterday after violent winds, gusting up to 80 kilometres an hour had forced its closure.
The Balearic Ports Authority confirmed that the port's closure which had lasted an hour, forced the cancellation of sailings of Blanca del Mar, Borja, Borja Dos and Zurbaran. These vessels were still moored up yesterday afternoon. Strong winds which had been predicted by the National Institute of Meteorology, had not, however, abated later in the day which resulted in ferry company Balearia suspending its departures to other parts of the Islands and the mainland of Spain. In spite of the ongoing inclement weather, there were no incidents reported and the port installations remained open. Sunday had also seen casualties at sea on Majorca with a luxury 15-metre sailing vessel running aground on the rocks at Santa Ponsa due to the strong winds. Local police in Calvia were told that a vessel was about to flounder in the Avenida Cruz area. Guardia Civil were able to confirm that there were no crew members aboard but attempts to secure the Italian vessel with ropes proved inadequate, and she continued to smash her hull against the rocky shore. Police were then faced with the task of locating the owner to report the fact that the boat had come adrift from her mooring due to heavy sea conditions.