The inadequate and insufficient amount of moorings is a key problem for Croatian private shipping companies, and according to the law, shipping companies cannot build ports themselves, but this is the responsibility of port authorities.
Due to the lack of winter moorings, shipowners have been advocating for years for the improvement of the existing Krilo port as well as the commissioning and improvement of the Bajnice port, which could also receive a good number of ships.
As a result of these efforts, the Port Authority of Split-Dalmatia County finally obtained a building permit this year for the development of the existing Krilo port. They announced that the landscaping work would begin this summer, but nothing has happened yet. Moreover, the Krilo port has long been designated as an alternative to relieve the port of Split, because our ships could change guests in the Krilo port and thus relieve the port of Split, which is one of the busiest ports in the Mediterranean.
The fleet of private shipping companies was not created unplanned and spontaneously, but was built in accordance with the strategies and plans of the Republic of Croatia, however the construction of the fleet was not accompanied by adequate development and construction of the necessary infrastructure. During the summer months, the ports are overcrowded and in some of them you can see up to 10 ships moored in a row on top of each other in two or even three rows. Shipowners point out that they are forced to do so because there is not nearly enough room for their ships in most ports, and often ports prefer yachts and give them additional moorings because they say they can earn more from them.
A few years ago, the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure announced the preparation of a study on the safety of navigation, docking, anchoring and staying in the port as well as the port area for all ports. According to these studies, a significant reduction in the number of moorings for private mini-cruisers is foreseen in most ports, and mooring of more than three ships in a row would not be allowed.
The association requested a postponement of the application of those studies, so last year the Ministry of the Sea came to the conclusion that the guidelines of the studies will be gradually implemented in the Regulations on order in the port, depending on the possibility and dynamics of opening new moorings in alternative ports.
The solution for the relief of the Split port is the improvement of the Krilo port, for the Hvar port the solution is the improvement of the Vir port, for the Gruž port the solution is the extension of Batakovina with a length of 400 meters, for the Pomena port the solution is the extension of the existing operational coast with a breakwater about 60 meters long, for the Bol port the announced solution is the expansion of the existing port, for the Vis port the solution is the construction of a new ferry pier outside the existing port and for the Korčula port the solution is the construction of the new port of Polačište.
Nevertheless, the Port Authority of Split announced to shipowners in April of this year that the mentioned study will be carried out as early as January 2025, as well as the reconstruction and extension of St. Peter’s Pier in the port of Split, as a result of which it will be closed for at least two years, and during that period it will not be possible to tie up ships for tourist purposes, which puts the entire next season, which the boatmen have already sold out, into question.
This is an insurmountable problem for tourist shipping companies, because the port of Split is the main and most important port where most of our ships load and unload guests and provide complete supplies. It is no less important that it is very important for our guests to visit the city of Split themselves.
As an alternative, the Port Authority of the Split-Dalmatia County offered shippers a certain number of moorings on the west coast in the port of Split, then in the ports of Trogir and Kaštel Stari, and in the ports of Omiš and Makarska. However, the question arises as to whether this will be a sufficient number of moorings to replace those that shippers will lose in Split.
