Authorities want old ferry terminal for new maritime museum

PALMA
THE old headquarters of the Trasmediterránea building in the Moll Vell is the preferred site for a new maritime museum in Palma.
Yesterday, representatives of the Balearic Government, the Council of Majorca and Palma Council announced plans for the museum and said they hoped to reach a deal with the Ports Authority over the use of the old Trasmediterránea building.

During a press conference in the Parc de la Mar in Palma yesterday, the Balearic Minister for the Environment, Miquel Àngel Grimalt unveiled the project, alongside his counterparts from the Council of Majorca, Catalina Julve, and Palma Council, Cristina Cerdó.

Grimalt, who was speaking with the old city wall and five traditional fishing boats as a backdrop, said that the three public authorities would be the founding patrons of the new museum but that it was hoped that other institutions and bodies, such as the central Ministry for the Environment, companies and tourist groups, would come on board.

The Minister said that it was the intention to set up an exhibition of the Balearics' maritime heritage that would become a reference point for the whole of the Mediterranean region.

He said that the Government and the Council of Majorca already had emblematic boats, such as La Balear, l'Alzina and the former Royal yacht Hispania, for the exhibition.

He said that the building in the Moll Vell was ideal for an exhibition of this type, especially as it was close to the water and the museum would have floating exhibits.