The problem can arise when sailors with licences that are decades old want to take over a charter yacht: At the handover, the base manager takes a look at the licence - and does not hand over the boat, even though the owner has a recreational boating licence for the sea, the official minimum licence, which Croatia has also recognised.
The Association of German Yacht Charter Companies (VDC) points out the problem. "The problem is that a few years ago the Croatians drew up a list of official licences that they accept. This included the recreational boating licence See. However, since the cover page of old licences only says "Sport boat licence" and the validity for the sea area is only found on the inside, some Croatian charter companies refuse to accept it," says Christian Zaloudek from the charter agency Sarres-Schockemöhle, who answers questions about licences at the VDC. "We've already had crews who were refused a ship because of this." The problem is that the charter companies face penalties if a skipper with such a licence is found on one of their ships during an inspection.
The same problem also applies to all older DSV licences such as BR, BK or C. The Croatians only recognise official licences, i.e. SBF See, SKS, SSS or SHS. However, there is a simple solution to the problem: you can apply to the DSV for a new licence for 19 euros.
There are also other problems when chartering large catamarans: in Croatia, these are categorised according to their permissible total weight, and skippers need an SSS or SHS if they weigh 30 tonnes or more. Sounds exaggerated at first - which cat weighs 30 tonnes - but it's all about the maximum payload. With crew and weight, a 45-foot cat can easily exceed this," says Zaloudek.
