October the 23rd, 2021 - Just as we thought we were safe in going on about how excellent of a tourist season we had this summer, with the Croatian nautical tourism sector blooming, the Transport Ministry has deleted over 800 charter companies from the eNautika system.

As Novac/Jutarnji/Jozo Vrdoljak writes, the Ministry of the Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure has deleted 807 charter companies from the eNautika system, explaining the move by claiming that these are companies that were registered as charter companies, and for which a check in the court and trade register established that they are no longer active.

According to the competent ministry, most of the deactivated charter companies haven't been active for many years now, and only eight of them were active at some point during 2021. Most of the former companies which have now been removed from the Croatian eNautika system, according to the Court Register, ended up in bankruptcy proceedings or were deleted for some other reason, and trades were mostly deregistered, according to the answer since received from the Transport Ministry.

At the moment, a total of 1937 charter companies are registered in the eNautika system, of which 766 were active during this year. These companies rent or provide accommodation services on a total of 3059 boats and 697 yachts under the Croatian flag and on 263 boats and 406 yachts under foreign flags.

Although the prevailing assessment is that this nautical season has been excellent, the total numbers are less than they were back in pre-pandemic 2019. By October the 15th this year, a total of 463,395 guest arrivals were recorded, which is 20 percent less than in 2019, when Croatia had 572,877 guests. This data includes yachts with a permanent crew and small boats engaged in multi-day cruises.

There are two main reasons for that, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs claims. The first is a weak pre-season, which was almost non-existent. Namely, by May the 30th, there were 45,500 or almost half fewer guests than there were just two years ago. Another reason is the absence of guests from overseas destinations, even from elsewhere in Europe, such as from the United Kingdom.

''The decline in the number of guests from Australia and New Zealand, who came in negligible numbers anyway, was particularly pronounced. There was a drop of 96 percent or, in numbers, 30,000 fewer guests from Australia and New Zealand. About 25,000 fewer guests came from the United Kingdom, and 10,000 fewer guests came from the US than in 2019. In contrast, the biggest winners of this nautical season are charter companies that rent unmanned yachts and boats. So called ''bareboat charter'' is a segment of nautical tourism in which Croatia is the strongest destination in the world and in that part of the season it is still going on,'' they explained from the aforementioned ministry.

Pasko Klisovic, the president of the Association of Accommodation Providers on Boats - Charter of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, says that as of October the 15th, there has been a 20 percent drop in charter arrivals compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

''The decline in charters this season, in addition to the poor pre-season, was certainly affected by the decline in the number of vessels rented. It's evident that there are fewer ships being offered for rent than in the years before the pandemic. Our company, Nautical Centre Pina i Mare, which has been operaring well, has had eight percent fewer ships in the fleet this year. Charter companies sold part of their fleets, and those who intended to increase their fleets back in 2019 ended up not doing so. Admittedly, there are some new vessels on charter this year that were supposed to be delivered last year, but we can’t take that as a planned increase. I'm afraid that there will be no more serious increases in the fleet next year either, because the ship manufacturers are also in trouble due to the lack of materials,'' concluded Pasko Klisovic.

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ZAGREB, 7 May, 2021 - A part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO) refers to developing a competitive, energy sustainable and efficient transport system, and it is valued at HRK 5.5 billion, Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković said on Friday.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan totals HRK 47 billion and comprises five components, with the economy component valued at HRK 26.2 billion. That component includes a sub-component on developing a competitive, energy sustainable and efficient transport system, with investments worth HRK 5.5 billion, recalled Butković.

The plan, he said, foresees the continuation of significant investments in modernising transport infrastructure with the aim of developing a sustainable transport system and stimulating the development of smart solutions as well as  reforming rail, road and air transport as well as maritime and inland navigation.

We are prepared to make these reforms and that is an opportunity to continue the current strong investment cycle in transport infrastructure, which amounts to more than HRK 25 billion. With the resilience programme we are continuing that investment cycle which will amount to more than HRK 30 billion by 2030, particularly in railway projects as well as all the other projects, said Butković.

He announced that reforms would include amendment of the Roads Act by 2026 to create conditions for the interoperability of electronic road toll systems and improve road safety.

Answering reporters' questions, Butković said that the Hrvatske Autoceste road management company is well on its way to advertising a tender for a new contactless toll system at all motorways in the country.

He estimates that the tender could be advertised in September or October and that the new system will most likely mean the introduction of a digital vignette.

The plan also foresees the adoption of new laws on maritime zones and sea ports, on inland waterway transport and ports, and on regular and occasional sea transport to ensure uniform implementation of regulations on public port management.

The plan also includes the construction and reconstruction of railway infrastructure, the modernisation of sea ports, the procurement of three passenger ships and three catamarans, new ferry boats, trams, buses, a new photovoltaic power station, and the construction of a new Level 5 autonomous vehicle, said Butković.

According to Butković, HRK 2.8 billion of the HRK 5.5 billion planned to be invested in the transport system would be allocated to the private sector.

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