27 fatalities, one missing person and 29 injured – this is the result of the 2019 water sports season. Despite increased activities on the water, this is a positive result, as the number of injured persons decreased by 30.9% and the number of deaths by 20.6%. In addition, the total number of rescue operations fell by 8.5% compared to the previous year.
The Croatian Ministry of the Navy attributes the decline to preventive measures and increased controls. However, the strong presence of the emergency services on the water also has a certain deterrent effect, according to the Ministry, which has encouraged skippers to be much more cautious and to comply with legal regulations.
Negligence, the Ministry continues, is still the most common cause of accidents on the water. In particular, the non-observance of weather forecasts, insufficient nautical experience and inadequate equipment of boats and yachts as well as the lack of knowledge of or compliance with the shipping charts repeatedly lead to avoidable incidents.
An experience that SeaHelp can only confirm: Although the breakdown service with its app and weather warnings is a powerful tool for all skippers, there are always water sports enthusiasts who don’t use this service. SeaHelp CEO Wolfgang Dauser:”In recent years, our weather warnings in particular have contributed to the fact that many skippers in the Croatian Adriatic area have been able to call at a sheltered harbour from storms or at least seek shelter in a bay. If all skippers would use this app and operate it correctly, even more accidents could be avoided in the future‟.
