A birthday celebration for the Croatian navy.
At the central ceremony marking the 24th anniversary of the founding of the Croatian Navy, which was held on Friday at the military harbour Lora in Split, it was pointed out that the Navy is the guarantor of territorial integrity of the Croatian Adriatic, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on September 19, 2015.
“Croatian sailors were able to defend the Croatian sea in the war, and now they are able to defend Croatian interests at sea”, said chief of staff of the Croatian Armed Forces general Drago Lovrić, who was the envoy of the supreme commander, president Kolinda Grabar Kitarović. He conveyed her message about the professionalism of the Croatian Navy, and its loyalty to Croatia and the Croatian people.
He added that the members of the Navy are demonstrating their abilities in the international peace support operations not only in the Adriatic, but also in the Mediterranean, where they are rescuing migrants. The Navy ship “Andrija Mohorovičić”, which is part of a humanitarian mission in the Mediterranean, has so far saved more than 1,500 lives.
“The Navy will again demonstrate its abilities in October of this year when our ships will transport Croatian ground forces to NATO’s largest military exercise to be held in Spain”, said general Lovrić. Also, its abilities will be demonstrated at this year’s largest military exercise in Croatia called “Joint Forces”. “We will demonstrate joint operations of the Croatian Navy, Army and Air Force with fighter jets, missile gunboats, and all the land resources available to the Croatian Army”, said Lovrić.
Navy Commander commodore Predrag Stipanović said that the Navy is organized as the main instrument of the Croatian maritime power to protect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests at sea. He stressed that the Adriatic, because of its strategic location, is more susceptible to the harmful effects of globalized life and increasingly complex security threats, such as organized crime, illegal migration, arms and drug trafficking, as well as the challenges related to climate change and possible environmental disasters. He added that the Navy must be modernized because ships and equipment are not advanced, although their operational capabilities are above 85 percent. He welcomed recent keel-laying in the Brodosplit shipyard for the construction of the first of five coastal patrol ships for the Coast Guard.
