The only question is: in which bay do crews expect such fields and do the local operators rightly collect mooring fees? For this reason, the Croatian authorities have recently published a list of licence holders, their addresses and locations, as well as the number of buoy fields.
In the official publications of the Croatian authorities ( www.mmpi.hr ), however, only the GPS coordinates of the buoy fields are listed. A Slovenian sailor then took the trouble to mark the fields on the electronic nautical chart and provided the screenshots to the editorial team in PDF form. If you want to get an impression for yourself, you can find the document here.
It is important for crews to know that, according to a letter from the ministry, buoy field operators must identify themselves on request. The card with the licence shows the name of the licence holder, the number and details of the buoy field. If the operator is unable to produce this or if their name or company cannot be found on the list, it is an illegal buoy field for which no fees may be charged. In addition, the fees for use have been set by the authorities for each field, and the licence holder should have this price list available on request. This is to prevent rip-offs due to excessive prices.
Furthermore, anchoring in such designated buoy fields is prohibited. A terse sentence in the regulations that prohibits crews from discharging "sanitary waters", i.e. from the on-board toilet or shower, into the bay while at anchor or at the buoy is problematic. Since not all yachts have holding tanks and sanitary facilities are not always available on land, this is a rather nebulous formulation. Also important: The buoy fee should explicitly include the disposal of solid waste and this should also be stated on the receipt.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
