Harbour Master: Everyone must follow the rules, we are watching

The Adriatic coast will be full of boats, sailors and swimmers this season, but with the crowds come safety challenges. The captain of the Rijeka Harbor Master's Office, Darko Glažar, commented on maritime rules and what is happening at sea on Croatian Television’s 'Studio 4' show.

Ahead of the upcoming summer tourist season, the harbor master of the Rijeka Harbor Master's Office, Darko Glažar, pointed out that tourism is creating additional pressure when it comes to safety at sea.

“It is normal that tourism, which mostly brings people to the sea in the summer, is closely related to safety at sea, and the Harbor Master's Office certainly has a lot of work to do,” he said.

“Our work is extremely seasonal, so we do about 90 percent of it in the three summer months, and the remaining 10 percent in the remaining nine months. That is where increased activity at sea and increased contact with people are needed,” he explained.

4.9 percent more external vignettes than last year

Glažar presented information that in the period from January 1 until May 6 last year, 2,941 vignettes were issued, which is the standard used by the Port Authority as confirmation of arrival and payment of the navigation safety fee, while almost 3,100 vignettes were issued this year.

“This is an increase of about 4.9 percent,” he said.

It remains an open question how high the activity of vessels to which vignettes have been issued will be,” claims Glažar, but he believes that "certainly a large part of these people will sail on the sea".

“Normally, they have to follow the rules, and we are here to watch it,” he said.

Anticipated fines for speedboats, but also for swimmers

He also used the opportunity to warn that speedboating is not allowed up to 300 meters from the coast, for which the "biggest penalty" is provided.

“Again, the question is whether it's the first time or if it's a repeat offender, then the penalties are more severe,” he emphasized.

“The same is true of the equipment on the boat, whether you have a boat master license or you have one but forgot it at home. That's also a category of penalties,” he added.

As for swimmers, Glažar emphasized that they are also subject to a penalty if they stray more than 100 meters from the shore, and boat rental companies must have a permit from a local government unit, whether it's a municipality or a city.

“This is in close cooperation with the Harbor Master's Office because we will give approval, or we will not give approval, to the micro-location where the starting point for picking up boats, jet skis, etc. would be,” he said.

He warned jet ski drivers that they must have three things when driving.

“They must have a vest, helmet and bracelet because if they fall into the sea on a wave, the engine can be stopped by pulling on it,” he explained.

Source: HRT