Action at Sea: 67 Violations, Stolen Boats, and Drug-Impaired Driving
During a week of intensified maritime surveillance, police recorded 67 violations, arrested a young man with cocaine, and found two stolen vessels worth €220,000.
During a week of intensified maritime surveillance, police recorded 67 violations, arrested a young man with cocaine, and found two stolen vessels worth €220,000.
From July 27 to August 3, 2026, police officers conducted intensified navigation safety surveillance in the Split-Dalmatia County area. The results of the operation reveal a concerning picture of disregard for maritime regulations, with a total of 67 sanctioned violations.
As many as 24 individuals were fined for illegal speeding, making it the most common violation in this operation. There were also nine incidents of anchoring in prohibited locations, along with two cases where vessels were moored to vegetation. Four individuals were sanctioned for overloading vessels, and eight did not have insurance policies on them.
Additionally, four vessel operators lacked certificates of competence for operating a boat, and in three situations, vehicles were operated by individuals without valid licenses. Two individuals received fines for renting out or handing over control of vessels to persons without the appropriate permits.
A particularly dangerous case was recorded on Saturday, August 1, 2026, around 11:40 PM in the waters of Vrboska on the island of Hvar. Officers spotted a vessel on radar speeding without navigation lights and then ordered it to stop using light and sound signals.
It was determined that the vessel was operated by a 20-year-old Croatian citizen. A breathalyzer test measured a blood alcohol concentration of 1.41 per mille, and a preliminary test also indicated the presence of marijuana in his system. Officers also seized cocaine from him. Due to suspicion of two violations under the Maritime Code and one under the Law on Combating Drug Abuse, he was banned from operating a vessel for seven days and remained at the police station until the effects of the intoxicants wore off.
In a separate operation, the Šibenik police found two expensive speedboats stolen in Sweden in 2023 and 2025 on July 30, 2026, in the Šibenik area. The total value of the vessels is estimated at around €220,000, and checks revealed that the markings on both boats were forged.
The operation involved officers from the Šibenik-Knin and Split-Dalmatia counties, as well as the Police Directorate. The Police Directorate emphasized that the officers' knowledge, which helped them locate the vessels, was gained at an international course on boat theft held in May 2026 in Split. The course, which has been conducted since 2020, is organized by FRONTEX, with the Police Directorate as the host.
The three-day training was attended by police officers from several European Union countries, while Croatia was represented by members of the police, customs, and harbor master's office. Specialized German police officers for boat theft and FRONTEX instructors imparted their knowledge.
"The most important message conveyed in the training proved accurate in the discovery of the two speedboats, and that is continuous international cooperation. Not only the knowledge but also the contacts made during the training significantly contributed to resolving the Šibenik case, certainly the first in a series," the Police Directorate announced.
