March 9, 2020 – Two new electric boats were presented at the Krka National Park, with the idea that they would contribute to the long-term nature preservation.
The two catamarans, built at the Dalmont shipyard in Kraljevica, will be able to transport a total of one hundred passengers, with four crew members, and they’ll be able to accommodate four persons that use a wheelchair.
They’ve been given very local names, Visovac and Miljevci, and will start transporting passengers in early April. The project through which they’ve been acquired was been presented recently at Roški slap in the national park, called ''The Unknown Krka: the Hidden Treasures of the Upper and the Middle Flow of the Krka River'’. One of the aims of the project is to develop sustainably and preserve the eco-system of the Krka river.
Nella Slavica, the director of the Krka National Park said that the electric boats are the most eco-friendly solution in protected areas. She added that all the activities within the National Park are about implementing high-quality solutions which influence the protection of the biodiversity of the Krka river long-term. The boats are built according to the newest and the highest eco and technological standards, which confirms the hundreds of years of know-how in Croatian shipbuilding.
Ivan Ivić, the owner and director of the shipyard, is also very proud of the work they’ve done on the boats. Visovac and Miljevac are the first electric catamarans built in their shipyards. They’re especially proud of the fact that those boats will operate within a Croatian national park and help protect the beauty of the park.
The electric catamarans have been built using the highest-quality aluminium, and the batteries and the propulsion engines in them allow them to have autonomy of around eight hours. Of course, the top of the boat is covered in solar panels, so when it’s sunny, the boats will have additional ten hours of autonomy. And since this is among the sunniest regions in Croatia, it’s obvious that this renewable source will be powering the boats during the summer season.
The Unknown Krka project is financed by the EU operational programme, and the project is worth over 80 million kuna in total. It includes numerous infrastructure interventions within the national park, the introduction of a lot of presentational and interpretational content for visitors, new walking paths and the improvement of the content management and visitation system. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop the national park and achieve better spatial and temporal distribution of visitors, which will improve their experience but also improve the situation in and around the national park in terms of economy, ecology and society.
