Crackdown on jet skis by police and Guardia Civil

Guardia Civil and local Police from all Costa del Sol Municipalities have launched an “Operation Dispositivo Litoral” along the coast in order to ensure safety for bathers and recreational boat users as well as jet ski riders.

The partnership, which also includes the Fiscal and Border Patrols, focuses on detecting and punishing negligent or improper conduct and enforce compliance with regulations at bathing areas and access points to beaches, harbours and ports.

Operation began on July 13 from 12pm-9pm and will cover all of the coast from Malaga up to Sotogrande. The Malaga Maritime Authority resolution from January 16, 2025 that outlines rules on the use of recreational boats and motorized vehicles, including jet skis, mandates that jetskis must maintain a 400 metre minimum distance from the coast.

The first day of operation saw the inspection of most vessels. Nine fines were issued for different violations.

• Two jet skiers were fined four times for operating their machines within 400 meters of the shoreline and in bathing areas.
• An operator of a recreational vessel who anchors in a swimming area will be fined.
• A fine of one hundred dollars for violating maritime law by operating a jet-ski within 400 meters of the shore.
• Two fines for a jetski that used an invalid life jacket while operating within 400 meters of the shore.
• Jet ski users who went more than 2 nautical miles away from the shoreline without a permit were fined.

The operation was supported by a law from 2014, which gives councils authority over coastal areas. It is essential to coordinate with the Malaga Maritime Authority and receive operational support from Guardia Civil Maritime Service and Fiscal and Border Patrol. Plainclothes and uniformed police officers, Fiscal and Border Patrol from Guardia Civil and the Provincial Maritime Service patrol boat provide support.

Authorities are focused on verifying the documentation of vessels and their registration in maritime waters, as well as insurance, operator qualification, and compliance to safety regulations. This includes using approved life jackets.

Similar schemes were in place during previous summers. However, the operation in 2025 will be much more intense after a British woman aged 48 died on Manilva’s coast from a speedboat that collided with a jet ski.