APSM -  Administração dos Portos das Ilhas São Miguel e Santa Maria, S. A

In 2003, the creation of the holding PA, of the APSM -Administração dos Portos das Ilhas de São Miguel e Santa Maria, S.A., of the APTG - Administração dos Portos da Terceira e Graciosa, S.A. and of the APTO –
Administração dos Portos do Triângulo e do Grupo Ocidental, S.A. , was the solution reached by the Regional Government of the Azores to change the structure of the port system of the Autonomous Region of the Azores and to perform an integrated management of the regional port system.

These three regional port authorities, exclusively state-owned corporations, with port authority competences and prerogatives succeeded the three Autonomous Port Authorities, created in the middle of the 20th Century. They were based on the Lei dos Portos (Ports Law) from 1926 and on the Lei Orgânica (Organic Law) of the Autonomous Port Authorities from 1927 and, therefore, considered old-fashion for the new regional port system’s requirements.

Presently, this Region’s ports management- without disregarding the public regional port service and without neglecting the need for the connection of the port with the rest of the entities that belong to the port community- relies upon the prosecution of wide business nature goals. This way, the holding assumes relevance to the definition of financial and organizational reasonableness, as well as to the introduction of a coordination investment system and allocation of resources, depending on the development strategies of each port, in a way of adequate complementarity between the ports of the nine islands.

In this context, the first priority is given to questions related to the port and maritime shipping safety.  The company Portos dos Açores -with great responsibilities in the promotion of the Azores’ ports- is an associated partner of the Community Initiative Programme INTERREG III B Azores-Madeira-Canary Islands.Through the project A.I.S.- Automatic Identification System Project for the Maritime Navigation in Macaronesia (MACAIS), it has granted a protocol with the Regional Fund of Cohesion  (FRC) in order to implement it technically and financially.



The Directorate-General Transport, an organ dependent on the Facilities, Transport and Housing Counsel, elaborates proposals for  rules, plans and action programmes related to the sector of transport in the Autonomous Region of the Canary Islands and is responsible for procedures according the established rules within the ambit of its competencies. Therefore, among its general functions, we point out:

• The elaboration of specific plans and programmes about the transport planning in the Canary Island.
• The elaboration of transport’s intermodal planning tools.
• The elaboration of normative projects to control the transport in the Canary Island.
• To inform about the approval, changes and revisions on the land and law planning in terms of transport according to the applicable legislation.
• The research on the development and modification of transport authorizations.
• Together with the Cabildos Insulares, the elaboration of plans and campaigns to supervise, control and make sure that the companies and activities related to transport are accomplishing the legislation.
• Aid and subsidy proposals intended to optimize the means of transport.
• Proposal for the necessary measures to establish compensations intended to get rid of the costs of double insularity in each type of transport.
• The management of airports, aerodromes and heliports is of the competence of the Autonomous Region and the Government, except when one of the parts reserves to itself the direct management’s right.
• To issue and guarantee the accomplishment of the service requirements.

Within the ambit of the sector of maritime transport, we point out some of its main functions and services:

• The proposal for regular island courses of maritime cabotage of the Autonomous Region of the Canary Island.
• To authorize professional activities of carrying people for maritime and leisure purposes.
• Inspection, control and penalty regime for the maritime transport activity, particularly the control of the accomplishment of public service requirements, without prejudice to any competencies of other public administrations or administration organs of the Autonomous Region of the Canary Island.
• Intervention in public entities, whose activity affects the port infrastructures, as well as its services’ organization.
• To issue subsidies to compensate the flight costs between islands as well as some maritime transport of particular commodities.