At the beginning of the year, Croatia the new safety regulation which has left sailors on the Adriatic coast with several unanswered questions. However, regardless of the content of the new rules, many skippers were quick to point out how difficult it is to adequately control the long coastline with its countless islands and bays. After all, many places are inaccessible from land and can only be reached by water.
In this respect, however, the authorities have now sent out a first signal: At the Iskra shipyard in Šibenik, Dalmatia, the first of a series of seven new Kapetanija patrol boats has been launched. In contrast to the Croatian Coast Guard, which is part of the navy, the Kapetanija a civil regulatory authority.
Many tasks for the Kapetanija
The tasks of the white boats with the blue hull band and crossed anchors include not only traditional harbour surveillance but also the SAR service and the general safeguarding of safe maritime traffic - and thus also the monitoring of the applicable laws by commercial and recreational shipping, such as the new safety regulations.
The new Kapetanija boat type corresponds to comparable designs of modern aluminium emergency vehicles with a wider range of tasks. According to the shipyard, the 15 metre long boats can reach a maximum speed of 40 knots. At cruising speed, the range is given as 430 nautical miles. They are designed as self-righting vessels.
Seven fast boats for 13.6 million euros
Following the delivery of the first boat, number two is also nearing completion. The other five are to be delivered to Kapetanija in the coming months. The total costs amount to 13.6 million euros.
No information was yet available on the deployment locations of the respective new arrivals. Kapetanija currently has a total of eight bases: Pula , Rijeka , Senj , Zadar , Šibenik , Split , Ploče and Dubrovnik.
