The Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure is preparing amendments to the Maritime Code that will introduce beneficial pension status for all Croatian sailors and a system of tax relief for shipowners modeled on the EU, as well as address certain difficulties arising from the implementation of social reform for sailors.
This was announced by State Secretary for the Sea Mario Babić at the Assembly of Mare Nostrum – Association of Croatian Employers – Shipowners in International Navigation, which elected new leadership yesterday. Dragutin Pavletić, director of Uljanik Plovidba from Pula, was elected as the new president of the Assembly, and Ante Maras, director of the Adriatic Maritime Service from Rijeka, as vice president. At the end of his two-year term, the former president of the Mare Nostrum Assembly, Stjepan Papić, president of the management board of Split’s Jadroplov, stated that Croatian shipowners still feel the global financial crisis and that there are no clearer signs of recovery on the horizon, which means they still face difficulties in their operations.
Papić emphasized his satisfaction that after a long period on the gray list, the Croatian flag is now on the white list of the Paris Memorandum as of this year, marking progress in improving the quality of ships under the national flag. Attendees agreed that this success was achieved as a result of the Action Plan for improving the status of the Croatian flag, which was implemented by shipowners, the Ministry, and the Croatian Register of Shipping. He also expressed satisfaction with the support the government provides for shipbuilding for Croatian shipowners and concluded by thanking for the very good cooperation that shipowners have with the relevant ministry.
