Croatia regulates charter through an ordinance of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, published in the Official Gazette as No. 42/17. The ministry's English manual, Chartering in the Republic of Croatia, sets out what it means for operators and owners.
Who may charter
The manual allows charter on:
- Croatian, EU and EEA-flagged vessels.
- Third-country vessels with cabotage authorisation from the minister, issued for the calendar year on a request from a charter company or maritime agent.
Any owner or user of a commercially registered vessel can charter, either through their own Croatian company or by contract with a Croatian charter company that takes over managing the vessel. A foreign company can charter on its own once it has a Croatian PIN and VAT ID, and names a tax representative in Croatia. Each vessel can be run by one charter company.
Rental or accommodation, and eCrew
The manual separates two activities. Renting a vessel, with or without crew but with no overnight stay on board, doesn't require the eCrew Request Form. Providing accommodation on board does: the charter company registers in the eCrew system before it charters, and enters the crew and passenger list online no later than the moment the vessel departs. Croatian-flagged boats registered to the charter company as owner or user don't need to send the form or documents.
Technical survey of foreign-flagged charter boats
Foreign-flagged charter boats must meet the requirements for Croatian-flagged vessels of the same type under the Rules for statutory certification of boats and yachts, and be surveyed on the same schedule:
| Vessel | Survey |
|---|---|
| Yacht: over 15 m, for longer stays at sea, up to 12 passengers | Every year |
| Boat: hull over 2.5 m or engines over 5 kW | Every two years |
For vessels up to 24 m, the manual says Croatian harbourmaster's offices no longer carry out these surveys. The charter company must arrange them with the flag state's maritime administration or a recognised organisation it authorises. If that organisation isn't recognised under Regulation (EC) No 391/2009, the flag state's confirmation of its authorisation goes to the ministry. The manual notes that Austrian-flagged vessels can't be registered for charter, because Austrian law doesn't let recognised organisations inspect recreational craft.
On renewal, the charter company sends a copy of the registry document and the new survey report when the old one expires.
Fees
The navigation safety fee is paid for each calendar year, in person at the harbourmaster's office on the vessel's first entry into Croatia or after a change of data, and online through eNautika on later arrivals, by card only.
For surveyors and operators
The survey report from the flag state or recognised organisation is what the ministry reads, so its date and expiry decide whether the boat can be chartered. For a Croatian-flagged boat, see Croatia's technical inspections. For the checks between charters, see the charter handover checklist.