Four luxury sailboats were forcefully retained in Korčula on Wednesday, June 29, as reported by Slobodna Dalmacija.
The Turkish boats Zelda, Lady Kirke, Mia and Akana were held up by the police and the customs control, according to a certain resident of Korčula. The boats were supposedly retained for not being able to provide documentation required to charter in Croatia, and everything is pointing to a case of Black Charter in Korčula’s waters. The Port Authority will issue an official statement on Thursday morning.
We recently wrote about the first yachts that had been denied entry into Croatia, and this seems to be a new case of police and the customs control properly following through on new regulations imposed on May 1 by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
Here’s a quick reminder: the local Union of Yacht Owners and Charter Agents has been raising awareness of the growing problem of Black Charter in Croatia for multiple years, so the Ministry recently updated the previous regulations on charter and tax for foreign flags entering Croatian territorial waters. As of May 1, 2017, all yachts need to have a license to charter in Croatia and are required to pay VAT for days spent in Croatian waters.
Today’s events on Korčula give us hope that foreign yachts and agents supporting illegal charter will start to take the new situation more seriously, and think twice before operating in Croatian waters without required permits.
More information to follow tomorrow, after the Port Authority gives a statement on the incident. In the meantime, read more about the Black Charter issue and the new regulations here.
