On a trip to Palma de Mallorca you may have noticed over the last three or four weeks a large yellow vessel anchoring in the Bahía de Palma. The cargo ship Pilar del Mar is anchored in the bay, perhaps 200 metres from the shore. Reason for this calamity, and a misfortune it is, is the question of money and the absence of funds. The vessel is currently not allowed to enter the port of Palma nor that of Barcelona, because the vessel’s owner owes money to both harbour authorties.

The Pilar del Mar belonged until recently to the shipping company Isleña Marítima de Contenedores (Iscomar) and still retains the emblem of the company. Iscomar recently returned the ship to its owners, a British shipping company which has hired another company as the consignee to take over the ship whilst remaining in Mallorcan waters. Ten days ago or so, Iscomar informed the ship’s crew that they should take a vacation because the company terminated the contract with the vessel’s owner. As far as I can make out there are currently only three staff members on board to maintain a minimum level of security.

Rumour has it that the Iscomar company is having trouble to survive as a viable business. If you are in the boat business you might look at a bargain situation here.

The photo (top) was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: November 17th, 2009. The time was 15:07:26. The photo (bottom) was borrowed from the Internet. Thanks are due to Diario de Mallorca and its photographer, Lorenzo. Muchas gracias.