Croatian Ports Research Articles

Cold Ironing Implementation Overview in European Ports—Case Study—Croatian Ports

Cold ironing technology, recognized as a tool to reduce emissions while ships are at berth, has been introduced in several European ports aligning with the international and European environmental and legal framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The study aims to identify the prospects for cold ironing technology’s introduction into Croatian state-owned ports according to European sustainable conditions. The authors surveyed a group of port experts and stakeholders. Response analysis showed that the technology implementation in Croatian ports is feasible, but only 40% of state-owned ports currently dispose of a minimum electric connection power of more than 1 kV. Furthermore, the analysis showed that all surveyed experts confirmed a cold ironing technology application perspective in state-owned ports. Substantial investments and financing demands have to be concerned to achieve sustainable implementation. Significant efforts are still needed to overcome the challenges in the technology application requiring cooperation between stakeholders. The international legislative regulations implemented by the IMO insist on the safety of ships and people, respecting both the security of navigation at sea and overall operations in the port.

Osvrt na nova pravila o prihvatu i rukovanju brodskim otpadom

In 2019, a new Directive (EU) 2019/883 on port facilities for the reception of ship-generated waste was adopted at the level of the European Union), repealing the old Directive 2000/59/EC of 2000 (hereinafter: Directive (EU) 2019/883). In order to implement the Directive (EU) 2019/883 into the national legal system, in 2021 the Republic of Croatia adopted a new Ordinance on the terms and methods of maintaining order in ports and other parts of the internal sea waters and the territorial sea of the Republic of Croatia (hereinafter: Ordinance) and thus transposed the new regulations on the delivery and handling of ship-generated waste into the Croatian legal system. The aim of the paper is to present the new solutions for the reception and handling of ship-generated waste from the Directive (EU) 2019/883 and to compare the solutions from the Directive (EU) 2019/883 with the Croatian legal framework for the reception and handling of ship-generated waste through a comparative analysis. Finally, an assessment of the creation of an adequate legal framework for the reception and handling of ship-generated waste in Croatian ports is provided, as well as suggestions for filling existing legal gaps. An analysis of the Croatian legal framework has shown that there are mutual inconsistencies, and that there is a need to revise the provisions of the Maritime Code and the Ordinance when receiving and handling of ship-generated waste.

Croatian ports of international economic interest with a focus on the tourisam development perspective of the Port of Zadar

The Croatian coastline, as well as various natural and man-made attractions in the Croatian hinterland, provide for a fairly well-developed tourism sector. Nacional marine ports play an increasingly important role in promoting and develoing the tourism sector. Zadar is the second largest domestic and international passenger port in the country and the third largest cruise port. In addition, the port serves several anchor clients in the dry bulk, liquid bulk and general cargo sectors. After analyzing Croatian ports of international economic interest in general, trends and developments in the port sector, and the destination states of Croatian ports, the authors in this paper focus on the segments of the Port of Zadar that are important for the development of tourism. The paper provides an overview of the current state, recommended targets and status of the Port of Zadar. Further, the paper predicts targets for passenger traffic (domestic, international and cruise) by 2030.

Evaluation of development partnership scenarios of the Croatian seaports using MAMCA analysis

The aim of this paper is to evaluate development partnership scenarios of the seaports in the Republic of Croatia using the Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA). Previous author’s research indicated a number of effects and criteria that PPPs need to achieve in order to ensure sustainable port development. However, implementation of partnership models in seaports in the Republic of Croatia has not reached its full potential although there has been significant progress over the last ten years. For that reason, the evaluation of the partnership models in Croatian seaports is a poorly researched issue. The author has defined three models of port development according to the degree of private investors’ involvement in Croatian ports (status quo, minimal participation and maximal participation of private sector). The author uses MAMCA as a tool to evaluate the PPP model, using relevant criteria for the evaluation of public-private partnerships (economical-financial, organizational, technical-technological, social criteria and the criteria aiming at harmonization with the policies of the European Union), from relevant stakeholders’ point of view (public interest, private interest and the interest of the wider community). The research results show that the best-evaluated model is maximal participation of private sector. It has positive influence on port development from economic and technological side, it directly contributes to different stakeholder’s interests, and in the long term, it contributes to the local community development.

Implementation of Charging Stations for Hybrid and Electrical Ferries in Croatian Ports

An important aspect of introducing hybrid or all-electric ferries on coastlines is to analyze the supporting land-based energy infrastructure to determine if it is possible to implement charging systems that such vessels rely on. The battery energy storage systems on such vessels will need to be rapidly recharged as passengers and vehicles disembark, which means that the flow of electricity through the distribution grid will be much higher and may lead to power quality issues on the local grid. Once implemented, shore connection and battery charging systems must be safe for both people and connected equipment. The issue of implementing shore connections needs to be analyzed from a technical, economic, and legal perspective. This paper presents the challenges and problems of implementing charging stations for ferries in Croatian ports as a result of the research conducted within the project METRO - Maritime Environment-Friendly Transport Systems.

An Overview of the Main Croatian Ports Important in Connecting Islands and the Mainland through the Prism of the RO-RO Technology

Croatia has well-indented coast and numerous islands and it is challenging to connect 48 permanently inhibited islands and at the same time respond to the requests of the population of the islands and their tourists in the maritime passenger transhipment. Although the liner passenger shipping has been established for series of years, it nevertheless requires a systematic approach to future development. Quite a number of scientific and technical papers have been written about the elements and the factors of the RO-RO liner passenger shipping significance. In this article authors examine the importance and role of the liner passenger shipping in connecting the islands with its mainland. This paper aims to evaluate the existing state of the port capacities for accommodating the RO-RO ships in order to modernize it and to emphasize the need for the improvement of the liner passenger shipping. Further in the paper, the maritime traffic of passengers and vehicles in the permanent line connection of the island and the mainland and the islands with each other in the Republic of Croatia. Particular attention has been paid to the level of development of the existing infrastructure for the accommodation of the RO-RO ships in the most significant Croatian ports. RO-RO passenger shipping is one of the key factors of the development of the Croatian islands. Authors point out the need to strengthen the role of the RO–RO passenger shipping as important part of maritime sector in the development and competitiveness of the Republic of Croatia through initiatives of sustainable growth of economic activities on islands and in the coastal area. The RO-RO passengers traffic simulations system would result in better insight into the possibilities for a more flexible connection of islands and mainland.

REMEMBER: an Adriatic network of Virtual Museums to highlight ports culture, traditions and history

The paper presents an on-going Interreg Italy-Croatia project, funded in the period 2019-2021 under the specific objective “Make natural and cultural heritage a leverage for sustainable and more balanced territorial development (3.1)”. The project REMEMBER (REstoring the MEmory of Adriatic ports sites. Maritime culture to foster Balanced tERritorial growth) has the overall objective to promote the shift toward sustainable tourism and blue growth in the Programme area through the valorization of the important maritime cultural tangible and intangible heritage of 8 Adriatic Italian and Croatian ports sites. The joint valorization will be carried out by the 10 project partners, with cross-cutting competences and multidisciplinary experience. Mainly REMEMBER project aims at increasing the attractiveness of local economies through the use of ICT for the digitalization of cultural contents and to differentiate the touristic offer reducing the tourism seasonality. At the current stage, the project has set up the methodological and theoretical framework in order to instantiate the Virtual Museums for the 8 ports. This common concept envisaged the development of a cloud based tool as first gate of the Virtual Museum project and provided all Project Partners with a baseline for setting up cultural and technological virtual museums, for the enhancement and promotion of ports cultural elements during the project implementation. The technical work packages, presented in the paper, establish also a common set of information as basis to reach the same digital outputs, compliant with the project goals: these outputs are called Digital Experiences and are connected to state of art technologies, enabling the dissemination of the tangible and intangible heritage related to eight port cities.

Characteristics of the Croatian anchovy purse seiner fleet

Croatia has a fishing fleet of 7559 vessels. Of these, small-scale coastal fishing boats, less than 12 meters in length, makes up 95,7% of the fleet. However, the largest percentage of catches, more than 94%, is made by purse-seiners that are representing only 3% of total fishing vessels. These vessels target small pelagic fish, predominately sardine and anchovy. This paper describes all the technical characteristics of the Croatian purse seiner fleet, based on 113 purse seine vessels registe-red in 6 Croatian ports and targeting anchovy in order to allow a precise determination of that fleet fishing capacity and subsequent management of the fleet in a responsible and sustainable manner. Comparison of different technical characteristics showed that the length of a vessel corresponds to the amount of the catch as well as to size of the fish. Hence, results confirm superiority of sonar, as a fish-finding device, over sounder in detecting fish shoals, which is prerequisite for purse seine fishing.

Review of Generated Waste from Cruisers: Dubrovnik, Split, and Zadar Port Case Studies

The amount of waste generated is becoming an increasing problem both in terms of inefficient use of resources and its harmful effects. Large quantities of waste originate from land, but a certain amount of waste is generated at sea, in which shipping holds its share. A recent analysis for 2015–2016 has rated the Croatian ports of Dubrovnik, Split, and Zadar in the top 10 out of 20 main cruising ports in the Adriatic Sea. As it is clear that a large number of persons present onboard generate a large amount of waste, the aim of this paper is to estimate the amount of waste (plastic, domestic, and food) and examine the significance of its increasing quantity produced by cruisers in the three main cruiser ports in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea for the period 2014–2017. Cruise calls correlation, together with repeated measures one-way Analysis of variance -ANOVA, showed that a future increase in the port calls for Zadar can be expected while, for the port of Dubrovnik, a decrease is projected, which is in correspondence with the taken measures for a reduction in the adverse effects of the cruise industry. Regarding the type of waste, domestic waste contributes the most with 62%, followed by the plastic waste with 26%, and food waste, which makes only 11% of the total amount of waste for that year. Waste minimization practices and further recommendations for the improvement of waste management practices are presented and put into relation with specific measures to protect and preserve the quality of the environment.

Port Pricing in the North Port of Split: A Comparative Analysis

Pricing in ports is an important element of port competitiveness when it comes to the establishment of logistics and transportation systems, determining cargo flows, and developing optimum and quality service. This paper aims to examine the need to modify the port tariff in the North Port of Split through comparison of thetariff system in the main Croatian cargo ports for specific vessel categories and types of cargo. The results were also compared with the port tariffs in the ports of Koper and Trieste to identify shortcomings and suggest potential modifications of individual service prices. The analysis revealed a discrepancy in the segment of port charges, towage and light dues (which account for almost 75 % of the total price), with the latter indicated as a crucial problem in all Croatian ports. Tariff adjustment would eventually improve port competitiveness, with the possibility of expansion to new markets, extension of the gravitational area, and acquisition of additional cargo for the North Port. The inclusion of "environmental charge", with envisaged discounts or additional charges for environmental protection and sustainable development, is essential for the port’s strategic orientation and market positioning.

Possibility of implementation and environmental benefits of high-voltage power supply in developing countries, example of Croatia

One of the significant environmental aspects of transport and cargo manipulation in ports is air pollution. Coupled with other industrial sources, port traffic and operations can cause exceedances of environmental limit values and thus increase the risk of adverse biological effects including toxicity to humans. The proposed paper will describe the main characteristics of the on-shore high-voltage power supply and will discuss the extent to which the implementation of this technology is justified with respect to environmental protection, development of sustainable transport and the protection of human health. The paper suggests implementing on-shore high-voltage power supply with the aim of securing a sustainable development of world ports and minimizing their harmful effects to the environment, taking into consideration the economic aspects. After analysing the results, this technology provides a wider perspective for its future implementation into Croatian ports. The paper will assess the possible environmental effects of implementing this new technology into Croatian ports.

Modelling the railway port infrastructure management system

Regarding the organisation of the railway in Croatian ports, the institutional framework on which the railway within the port operates is relatively uncertain with potential conflicts of the national and EU legislation as well as diversities in practical approaches from the governing institutions towards empirical solutions on the field. This paper develops possible models for organisation of the management of rail transport services within the port area in order to research governance mechanism and provide standards of quality of railway operations, which are in accordance with the existing legal framework and on best practice solutions. This models are developed in order to enable several main principles important for port operations and business development such as transparency of the access conditions and service prices, single entry point, services in the rail terminal fully coordinated with the capacity allocation, performance scheme as part of the infrastructure charging system, performance targets in the form of indicators, access to topical reports on the service quality of the service in the port terminal, and implementation of the use-it-or leave-it rule.

Marine Fisheries and Mariculture in Croatia: Economic and Trade Analysis

The aim of this paper is to identify the state and trends in Croatian marine resource sector which determine the trade balance with Italy. Firstly, size and the structure of the marine fisheries in Croatia are investigated taking into account time trends and the effects of the EU common market policy. Furthermore, we compared the size of export and import of the fishery products. In particular, we look at the relevant indicator of trade with Italy. Since the wholesale market places are established with difficulties in Croatia, the trade channels of the marine fishery products are rather heterogeneous. Next, the market size and structure are analyzed for the specific markets, together with the analysis of the information asymmetry problems. The analysis results with several findings including that the total fish catch volume is accompanied by a decrease in fish catch value. Furthermore, the gap between Italian and Croatian catches in the Mediterranean Sea shrink, and more fish products are exported from Croatia to Italy than imported from Italy to Croatia. The average size of Croatian fishing fleet vessel is still much lower than the average fishing vessel size arriving at Croatian ports. Finally, fish market is underdeveloped in Croatia with low value added created along the trading chains.

Cruise passengers' experiences in coastal destinations – Floating “B&Bs” vs. floating “resorts”: A case of Croatia

While intranational micro-cruises present a new and exciting tourism segment and a potentially powerful promotional tool for some countries and coastal destinations, the growing body of cruise research has focused almost all attention on large international cruises and onboard experiences. Hoping to assist in filling this void, this research explores micro-cruise travelers' demographics/tripographics characteristics and satisfaction with the coastal destination's individual attributes in regards to revisit/repurchase and word-of-mouth intentions (RWOMI). Data were collected on 25 different ships in two Croatian ports over four months in 2009. The influence of satisfaction factors and demographics/tripographics on travelers' RWOMI was assessed by logistic regression. Further, micro-cruise and large international cruise travelers' characteristics were compared. The results revealed significant differences in travelers' demographics/tripographics and satisfaction with the different coastal destination attributes between the two cruise segments. Satisfaction with general country attributes, gastronomy and tourism destination product increased likelihood of micro-cruise travelers' RWOMI. Theoretical and managerial implications and opportunities for future research are discussed.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE SECURITY ISSUES IN CROATIAN PORTS IN RELATION TO THE PORT STATE CONTROL INSPECTIONS

This paper analyzes the level of implementation of the ISPSCode in the Croatian ports. The analysis is based on the PortState Control inspections as the most important controllingmechanisms for evaluation of the adherence to the internationalregulations. In this respect the analysis of the security-relatedmeasures in ports is ca'ied out implicitly - it is based onthe analysis of the security-related deficiencies found on shipssince ISPS Code came into force. The period of one and a halfyears, from the beginning of the ISPS Code implementation, isconsidered to be representative to provide initial assessment ofthe effectiveness of the implemented security measures. In addition,the paper presents conclusions based on the comparisonof results of security-related inspections in Croatian ports withdata presented by the Paris and other MOU inspection database.

Planning of Terminal Construction at the Port of Ploce

The paper presents a systematic and comprehensive analysisof both the technological justification for the constructionof a container/multi-purpose terminal and a dry bulk terminal,and the efficiency of loading/unloading facilities. The organisationof Croatian ports is inefficient and the technology usedin outdated. Traffic links with the mainland, the continent andthe world are unsatisfactory, with traffic infrastructure impactingadversely on operational efficiency. Analysis results of thepresent condition of port traffic and the influence of traffic onport operations and development indicate that the Port ofPlace lacks a multi-purpose terminal that would enable modemcontainer traffic. Because of the inefficient cargo-handlingprocedure and manner of storing bulk cargo in the Port ofPlace, it is necessary to plan the construction of a coal andiron ore terminal taking into account spatia~ technological,economic and ecological development factors. The authorsalso examine the importance of regional initiatives spurringthe development of Croatia and, in particular, the port systemas part of the EU's Pan-European transport corridor V BranchC. Research results are presented by a traffic and technologicaldesign for a container/multi-purpose terminal and dry bulkterminal capable of providing an appropriate level of servicefor all terminal users.

Marketing Concept in the Function of Croatian Seaport Business Operation Improvement

The application of the scope of marketing concept in modemmarket conditions of business operation is obligatory. Therole of marketing, as a business philosophy, is in the end unavoidablefor the improvement of business operation. It is impossibleto do business in market conditions and not to applybasic marketing rules. Therefore, the solution for the improvementof operation of Croatian seaports should be soughtthrough the systematic application of the scopes of marketingconcept. Marketing mix should be applied to the system of businessoperation of Croatian seaports, with a breakdown of allunderlying marketing functions based on the results of a systematicmarket research, and through monitoring not only ofthe current status but also of market trends and forecasts, listeningto customer demands and trends in this particularbranch of industry. In addition to the improvement of the qualityof transport services, through the analysis of the price policyand by strengthening the logistics of port operation, particularattention should be focused towards the systematic applicationof all promotion mix elements aiming at strengthening the identityand the image of Croatian ports. In the end, such businessand marketing-like thinking should result in economic developmentand business prosperity not only of ports but of maritimetransport as well; in other words, by the prosperity of theentire transport activity, as a prerequisite for the economic developmentof the Republic of Croatia.

INFLUENCE OF PORT POLICY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CROATIAN CONTAINER PORTS

It is important to consider the port development throughoutthe world from the aspect of economical, transport and portpolicy and their mutual impact on commerce and efficiency ofports. By examining such relations in the context of developmentof the Croatian container ports, it is possible to define reasonsfor lagging behind of Croatian ports compared to theworld movements.The main reason for the negative trend of development ofCroatian container ports lies in the non-existence of adequatemeasures of transport, maritime and port policy. Analysis ofstatistics over the past decade and comparison of structure andvolume of the general cargo traffic in the Rijeka port and theneighbouring ports in the area of North Adriatic are both showingsignificant size discrepancy and uncompetitiveness of theCroatian port. Disturbances that have brought to such a situationresult from inadequate port policy and non-harmonisedactivities between various modes of transport.In order to overcome such situation, the authors suggest determiningof clear tasks, goals and measures of the port policythat have to be undertaken so that the Croatian policy could becompatible with the main aspects, development tendencies andmeasures of theE U port policy.