At the end of March, the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure published a new regulation entitled "Rules on the Safety of Maritime Navigation in Inland Waters and Coastal Seas of the Republic of Croatia and the Manner and Conditions of Carrying Out the Supervision and Management of Maritime Traffic".
Behind the unwieldy name lies a 120-page (!) set of rules that sports skippers should at least be familiar with in part - even if it is currently only available in Croatian and some of the wording leaves room for interpretation.
Minimum distances to the coast
Among other things, Article 49 "Navigation along the coast and organised bathing beaches" is important for sports skippers in Croatia: According to this, boats underway must now maintain the following minimum distances from the coast:
- Boats of 30 metres and over: 300 m
- Boats from 15 to under 30 metres: 150 m
- Boats under 15 metres: 50 m
The same minimum distances apply to the fencing (floating line) of a regulated bathing area. In addition, according to Article 50, motorised gliding (motorboats, scooters, jet skis) is only permitted in Croatia at a distance of at least 300 metres from the coast.
Anchoring with shore lines
Article 53 of the ordinance regulates where anchoring is permitted or prohibited. According to paragraph 7, it is now prohibited to "moor vessels on the shore in such a way that parts or accessories of them are 50 metres or more from the shore". This wording is not easy to understand. It most probably means that when anchoring with shore moorings deployed, the boat (or part of it) must not be more than 50 metres from the shore.
The preceding paragraph 6 stipulates that mooring lines and anchor chains must not obstruct the passage of other vessels. This regulation makes perfect sense, as in the past it was not uncommon for owners of (large) yachts to stretch their mooring lines across the bay in Croatia, thus blocking access for other boats.
Hundreds of anchorages in Croatia off-limits?
However, not all of the new rules are likely to meet with approval. Paragraph 9 "Anchoring is prohibited" states under point 5: "at a distance of less than 150 metres from the shore of a natural bathing area". However, the term "natural bathing area" is not precisely defined.
It is well known that people in Croatia not only swim on beaches, but also on rocky coasts where you can jump into the water and somehow climb back ashore (using a ladder, steps or similar). There are hundreds of popular anchorages in small bays and narrow fjords - where people naturally also swim. In many places, it is simply impossible to keep a distance of 150 metres from the shore.
The consequence would be that hundreds of popular anchorages could no longer be visited. We will endeavour to clarify the situation and report back. If you would like to read the original regulation, you can find it in the Official Gazette Narodne Novine NN 52/2025
