ZAGREB, Nov 4, 2020 - The Croatian Navy on Wednesday received two high-speed interceptor VHB M-46 boats to be used to monitor fishing activities in the Adriatic.

The boats were procured based on an agreement concluded in July between the defence and agriculture ministries.

As  much as 70% of the value was covered by EU funds while the remainder was secured by the Agriculture Ministry. The Defence Ministry has provided crews and logistic support.

The VHB M-46 speed boats will be used for monitoring the fishing activities and will be also available for search and rescue missions on the sea. They are equipped with secure navigation, contact systems, infra-red and tv-cameras to monitor and record situations by day and night.

The boats enable a four-member crew to spend several days out at sea whereas the boats overall capacity is for 12 people.

One boat will be given to the Pula Coast Guard while the other will be allocated to the Coast Guard unit in Split.

ZAGREB, Sept 17, 2020 - Croatian Navy Day and the 29th anniversary of the navy's establishment was marked in Split on Thursday, with Defence Minister Mario Banozic, as Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's envoy, underscoring the importance of the re-establishment of the marine-naval infantry base in Ploce.

The celebration was more modest than in previous years due to epidemiological restrictions. 

Banozic underlined the need for a strong Navy that will guarantee security in the Adriatic at any given time. He said that soon it will be equipped with two speed boats that will certainly enhance the capabilities of the coast guard.

Banozic recalled that it was particularly important to continue building patrol boats for constant surveillance of territorial waters and to protect the ecological and fisheries protection zone.

Banozic explained that currently, Croatia has one ship and crew participating in NATO's Sea Guardian mission and that its sailors are participating in the EU's Atalanta international peace support mission, with Croatia showing its dedication to joint allied efforts to ensure security on the sea.

The Chief-of-Staff of the Armed Forces, Admiral Robert Hranj said that during times of economic hardship, caused primarily by the coronavirus epidemic, the Croatian Navy has to find a way to respond to important issues related to further developing and modernising its Navy.

Hranj said that the Navy's main focus in the years to come will be peacetime tasks of ensuring security in the Adriatic.

"Croatia's Navy has to continue developing its capabilities to help civilian institutions on the sea and the coast," said Hranj.

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ZAGREB, February 2, 2020 - President and Armed Forces' Supreme Commander Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Saturday requested an investigation into the case of Croatian Navy Commander Ivo Raffanelli, who was seen to be in a car that was driven at an excessive speed on Friday.

The request for the investigation and disciplinary action followed after on Friday media outlets released footage of a Defence Ministry car being driven at the speed of more than 200 kilometres per hour on a motorway in southern Croatia.

The footage shows that the car was driven by an official chauffeur and that Raffanelli was a passenger. He later explained that he was returning from the funeral of Major Marin Klarin in Zadar to his town of Tučepi for his urgent private reasons. The Rear Admiral Raffanelli says he assumes responsibility and is ready to accept sanctions if it is established that the car was moving at excessive speed, according to a press release the ministry sent to the media.

Pilot Klarin is one of the two victims who recently died in a helicopter crash off šibenik.

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ZAGREB, September 21, 2019 - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Damir Krstičević said in Dubrovnik on Friday that the Croatian Navy (HRM) is a basic factor of Croatia's security in the Adriatic and a steward of the country's interests in the Mediterranean.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the 28th anniversary of the establishment of the Croatian Navy, Krstičević said that the government had recognised the strategic importance of developing the navy along with the other branches of the armed forces.

"With the aim of securing the necessary conditions to carry out all our duties, we have steadily increased our defence budget," said Krstičević. "We have procured modern equipment and we are strengthening the overall capacity of the Navy," he added.

"In the wake of the Homeland War our navy weakened and that was not a good situation. We are a maritime country and we have to have a navy," the defence minister stressed.

"Last year the government decided to form a Marine company in Ploče as the new HRM centre, whereby we returned the victorious army to Croatia's south, which is one of the most important strategic decisions that is vital to peace and security in this area," said Krstičević.

The Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Mirko Šundov, said that the HRM must be capable of protecting the sovereignty of the state, monitoring and protecting Croatia's rights and interests at sea and additionally strengthening its homeland security.

As part of the ceremony, the 2nd Croatian contingent was welcomed home from the "Sea Guardian" NATO peace support mission in the Mediterranean.

The Croatian Navy was established on the orders of the late president Franjo Tuđman on 12 September 1991. Croatian Navy Day is celebrated on 18 September in memory of a battle near the southern coastal town of Makarska in 887 when the Croatian navy defeated the Doge of Venice who was killed in the battle.

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The 22nd ''Maraton lađa'' on the Neretva river will see the participation of the Croatian Navy (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica) for the very first time, those participating will be from the new HRM unit stationed in Ploče.

As Morski writes on the 9th of August, 2019, the 22nd Maraton lađa, which will be held on Saturday, August the 10th, 2019, will be further enriched with the participation of the Croatian Navy for the first time. The crew of the Croatian Navy who will partake consists of sixteen members.

In addition to the successful conduct of exercises and training activities, the Croatian Navy's members have been intensively preparing to participate in Neretva's traditional Maraton lađa since back in April this year. As part of their preparations for this boat marathon, the Croatian Navy team also participated in a series of preliminary races, including one in Zagreb, far from the Neretva river.

The participation of the Croatian Navy in the ship marathon is held in light of last year's return of the Croatian Army to the Neretva valley in southern Dalmatia.

Namely, since September 2018, a new barrack has been in function in Ploče, which houses the newly established unit, which has also provided the Croatian Navy with some new capabilities.

The return of the Croatian Armed Forces to southern Croatia is a function of security and assistance to the local community, civilian institutions, and the local population. In this sense, the initiative and active participation of the Croatian Navy's members in Maraton lađa came from the perspective of the development of close cooperation and cohabitation of the Croatian Army and the people from which the Croatian Army actually originated.

The Neretva river's traditional boat marathon is a cultural, sporting and tourist event and competition organised by the Association of the Neretva boatmen, which preserves the tradition and identity of the southern Croatian people who are from the areas in and around the Neretva valley in Dalmatia. The competition is conducted from the town of Metković to Ploče, on a route which is 22.5 kilometres in length.

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ZAGREB, April 11, 2019 - Croatian Navy mine clearance divers demonstrated at the Lora naval base in Split on Thursday the use of their equipment, donated by the US Navy. Croatian Navy commander Commodore Ivo Raffanelli told the press the equipment was worth more than 200,000 dollars and that the US Navy would make six more equipment donations by year's end.

He said the equipment was extremely important for the evaluation of Croatian mine clearance divers and expressed hope that after the evaluation, "we will be ready to offer them to NATO troops next year." He recalled that the Croatian and US navies have been cooperating more than 20 years.

US Ambassador Robert Kohorst said he was pleased to be at Lora and that one could see there that the cooperation between the two navies, with emphasis on humanitarian matters, was good. It's good that we can continue to support our good partner Croatia in this way too, he added.

Asked if Croatia might purchase US F-16 combat aircraft, Kohorst said he believed Croatia would decide which aircraft it wanted soon.

We hope it will be the F-16. It's an incredible plane and we hope Croatia will choose the F-16. Both new and used aircraft have very good possibilities, capabilities, so that, whatever Croatia decides, we will be pleased, he said.

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The Croatian military, in its various segments, has been making some rather large purchases of late, and it seems that there's no plan to stop at just aircraft as the Croatian Navy plans some major purchases.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of November, 2018, Croatian naval priorities have been quickly swung to the acquisition of new or modernised radar systems with support of unmanned systems (UAVs) and the desire for five to even ten patrol vessels.

For the period between 2024 to 2026, the procurement of an offshore patrol boat of a modular design has been planned, which would also boast a helicopter landing platform. This would enable the Croatian Navy (HRM) to step out into the Mediterranean as well, given the fact that such vessels can spend weeks, even months out of their home port, according to a report from Večernji list.

The Croatian Navy also intends to acquire a few (two to three) new or modernised ships for underwater surveillance (so-called mine-hunters), and the absolute priority is to procure a new anti-ship (missile) system, the planned successor to the current Swedish RBS-15, whose remaining rockets will be out of function in the next five to seven years.

In its plan, the Croatian Navy intends to procure and own up to ten such patrol ships over the next ten years, with the remark that after the construction of five new ones, the purchase five more used ones can follow. The price stands at about ten million euros per copy, and they will gradually replace the OB class "Mirna", which were built back in the early 1980's.

It has been deemed that the Croatian Navy should be equipped with a minimum of two large patrol vessels, of up to 1,500 tons in weight. These ships should have multiple uses, ranging from war uses, such as anti-aircraft uses, as well as to be able to perform tasks from the Coast Guard's domain. The multipurpose ships will also have platforms for the installation of new anti-ship rocket systems, and a load displacement of about 1,500 tons would also enable the accommodation of a scout helicopter which would significantly increase the ship's monitoring capabilities at sea.

Considering that the fact that the Adriatic sea is a vitally important naval corridor to Western Europe, with main ports in the north, underwater surveillance for the Republic of Croatia is just as important as the surveillance of the airspace and the ability to react promptly in terms of so-called ''air-policing."

Otherwise, over the past ten years, the Croatian Navy has unfortunately failed to realise any major modernisation project that was put into any longterm plan.

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As Morski writes on the 18th of November, 2018, the Vukovar warship, along with the Dubrovnik ship of the same class, has been part of the Croatian Navy for the past ten years.

Its service in the Finnish Navy was withdrawn in 2007 and the vessel was sold to Croatia for nine million euros, as part of Croatia's "offset" program for the procurement of Armored Patria vehicles. Otherwise, "Vukovar" is the first Croatian warship to successfully serve in a NATO mission.

The Helsinki class rocket launchers are a type of rocket launcher used by the Finnish Navy. There were a total of four vessels built in this class, with the Helsinki class following the Rauma rocket launcher class. All ships of this class were built at the Wärtsilä Hietalahti Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland.

The ship has a 300 tonne load dispacement, is 45 metres long, 8.8 metres wide, and boasts a three-metre long beam. It is equipped with three MTU 16V 538 TB92 diesel engines of 9,000 kW, and can reach a speed of 32 knots.

The ship is staffed by 33 members of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, and the commander of "Vukovar" is Ante Uljević.

As mentioned, Croatia's "Vukovar" rocket launcher is the first Croatian Navy vessel to take part in a NATO operation and has covered more than 4,100 nautical miles. In the Sea Guardian operation, it covered the most miles between the ships in the tactical group, and covered an area of about 180 nautical miles, and an average of 100 nautical miles from the western coast of Sicily to the coast of Tunisia, and then towards Malta.

It's a little known fact that in the Croatian Navy, a torpedo ship of the same name was in use until the year 2000, known as TB-51 Vukovar. It was built at the Kraljevica Shipyard back in 1971 and was initially put into service in the Yugoslav Navy under its original name TČ-222 Partizan II. The ship was renovated in 1991 in Šibenik where it was put into the service of the Croatian Navy under the name Vukovar. The crew of the ship consisted of twelve officers and twelve sailors. The ship was eventually withdrawn from service in the year 2000 and was stored in Brižine, near Split.

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ZAGREB, September 3, 2018 - The Croatian Navy missile boat Vukovar sailed out from the southern naval port of Lora at Split on Monday to join NATO's Operation Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean.

ZAGREB, August 21, 2018 - Montenegro is open to all its allies using the training ship "Jadran" but the vessel will stay in Montenegro and sail under its flag, it was said at a ceremony in the coastal town of Tivat on Monday which marked the 85th anniversary of the Montenegrin Navy's most valuable and most beautiful ship.