Jadrolinija's catamaran "Novalja", which connects the islands of Ist and Molat with Zadar, hit a pier of the Zadar town harbour this morning. There were about twenty passengers in the catamaran. According to the initial unofficial information, one sailor has injured his hand, and one elderly passenger requested medical assistance, reports zadarski.hr on January 9, 2019.

It seems that the incident took place due to a malfunction of the ship’s steering commands. The catamaran entered the harbour this morning and headed for the town bridge when the commander realised that his commands did not operate. He decided against turning off the engine, which enabled him to turn the catamaran and prevent it from hitting the town bridge. He instead pointed it towards the harbour exit. There he managed to avoid large yachts, so no other vessels were damaged.

The lower part of the catamaran’s bow has been damaged.

“There were about twenty of us on board. We entered the port when the ship’s steering broke down. The captain tried to leave the harbour so he would not hit the bridge, but he failed and hit the pier. I think he responded very well and that this was the best solution,” said one of the passengers.

The Jadrolinija shipping company issued the following statement: “Earlier today, during the arrival in Zadar just before 8 am on the regular Ist - Molat - Zadar line, the Novalja catamaran hit the pier at the entrance to the passenger part of the town harbour. Passengers left the ship, and we are undertaking standard procedures for such incidents. According to the initial information, there has been no pollution of the sea, but the catamaran has suffered damage to its hull. The line departing from Zadar will be executed with a replacement catamaran.”

“The first information points to a technical defect. When he tried to dock, the captain noticed there were technical problems. He tried to turn and sail from the harbour so as not to pose a risk to other maritime traffic participants. He did not succeed and hit the pier, but fortunately did not hit other ships. Thanks to his experience, he reacted very well,” said Harbour Master Alen Rukavina.

More news on Jadrolinija can be found in our Business section.

Translated from zadarski.hr.

The Agency for Coastal Liner Shipping has already prepared the schedules for the next year and presented them to partners at the World Travel Market in London. This means that all passengers travelling to Croatian islands in the upcoming season will soon be able to see all the details of the passenger shipping schedules, which have finally been aligned with flights coming to coastal airports, particularly in the evening, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on November 9, 2018.

For decades, one of the problems for the tourism partners was the late publication of the shipping schedules to the Croatian islands which were not known until the spring, which meant that partners sometimes had to cancel their already scheduled travel packages for the islands.

“Tourism Minister Cappelli wanted all tour operator and partners of our tourism to be provided with timely information on coastal and liner shipping for lines which link the mainland with the islands. This year, we have accepted all the remarks given by the public and private sectors and tried to be as fast as possible so that everyone would have the info on how to reach the Croatian islands. There are 51 state lines and 11 seasonal lines that have been established so far, and we can still receive and supplement the seasonal line requests,” said Paola Vidović, head of the Agency for Coastal Liner Shipping in London.

For example, this will solve a well-known problem for passengers landing at Split Airport in the evening, who until now had to wait until the next morning for the first ship to sail to the island of Hvar. “In about ten days, our schedule for the next season will be published on our website. We have already defined it, accepting suggestions and criticism and adapting to the demands of the islanders and tourists. From early May to late September, Jadrolinija will have a fast line from Split to Hvar at 8 pm, and a ferry half an hour later,” she said

“The shipping companies have accepted many of the tour operators’ demands. During the peak tourist season, there will be 16 lines connecting Hvar with the mainland, including to Dubrovnik and Korčula. The evening connections have been introduced as per passenger requests, and in about a month you will be able to buy the tickets on Jadrolinija’s webpage,” said Vidović, who attended the fair in London together with Minister Cappelli.

The seasonal lines will start from early April and last until late September. In 2019, some of the new seasonal lines will be the one from Split to Šibenik and Zadar, and a new line from Rijeka to Zadar that will visit the islands of Krk and Vir. These lines will be maintained by private shipping companies.

There is also talk about the possibility that guests could be transferred directly from Divulje to the islands on lines to be agreed with the shipping companies.

It is highly commendable that, for the first time ever, Croatia has done everything that its tourism partners in London were asking for.

For more on Jadrolinija, click here.

Translated from Slobodna Dalmacija (reported by Ružica Mikačić).

Ferries in Dalmatia. Gliding through a millpond, a gentle breeze through your hair under perfect blue skies, gliding along the islands and mainland of Croatia's Adriatic coast. 

That is the romantic summer version of taking ferries in Dalmatia (and much of rest of the year too). 

But when the weather turns foul an a storm is brewing, it takes on an altogether different experience. 

There is some very severe weather in Dalmatia at the moment, and the other side of ferries in Dalmatia was captured by Index.hr reader Andrej Pavicic, who captured yesterday's ferry from Vela Luka on Korcula to Split, with the Jadrolinija ferry Bartol Kasic having a very rough time of it as it passed the island of Hvar. 

Check out the ferry and Index video by clicking on the image below.

The ship’s godmother was Zita Pleše, a recently retired Jadrolinija worker who worked for the national shipping company for 40 years.

A group of bottlenose dolphins joined Jadrolinija on their way to Vis. 

August 9, 2018 — The Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Traffic and Infrastructure's generosity towards one small island sparked a backlash in others.

The tender involved the acquisition of four catamarans.

On Friday, the Petar Hektorović boat that sailed for Vis failed to load 50 cars!

Will you be using Jadrolinija this summer?