Webinar "Does Every Bay Need a Port?" held on April 23, 2025 - Conclusion 1.
More and more ports, fewer and fewer communal berths?
More and more ports are being built on the Croatian coast, which are presented in the plans as ports for the needs of the local population. But the reality shows something completely different: it is increasingly difficult to find a free berth for personal use, while commercial vessels and the nautical sector are experiencing unhindered growth.
Are we really going to build ports in every bay?
According to available data, Croatia today has about 125,000 domestic boats and yachts, along with about 55,000 foreign vessels and more than 900 charter companies. According to some estimates, as much as 40% of the world's charter fleet is based in Croatia. For a sensitive and closed marine system like the Adriatic, this represents enormous pressure – a pressure that is further increasing with new legislative frameworks.
Communal berths, which have been the basis of the local maritime culture for decades, have been reduced to an exception by the Law on Maritime Domain and Seaports. They exist only within a port open to public traffic of local importance, and not as a separate category, while a port of special purpose for nautical tourism exists as a separate category.
Pojednostavljeno, prostor luke otvorene za javni promet lokalnog značaja dijeli se na komunalni, operativni i nautički dio. Iako je nautički dio namijenjen za privremeno vezivanje nautičara u tranzitu, sve se više dodjeljuje u dugoročne koncesije i koristi za zimovanje brodica. Preostali prostor dijeli se na komunalne vezove za osobnu i gospodarsku upotrebu, no prema iskustvima lokalnog stanovništva, vezovi za komercijalne brodove, poput charter brodova i izletničkih brodova, prevladavaju. Na taj način, komunalni vezovi za osobnu upotrebu postaju sve oskudniji, dok broj luka raste.
An additional problem is the lack of strategic planning. The National Maritime Space Management Plan, which Croatia was supposed to adopt by March 2021 according to the European Directive 2014/89/EU, has not yet been adopted. Instead, responsibility has been shifted to local units – municipalities, cities and counties – which further increases the fragmentation of the system.
Is our maritime tradition being erased in this way?
Suggestions for change:
Advocating for the amendment of the Maritime Domain and Seaports Act, with clear recognition and protection of the category of communal ports.
Advocacy for the adoption of the National Maritime Space Management Plan.
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