In the Bay of Kotor, traffic increased by about 15 percent this summer. Three hundred fifty cruisers entered Boka bay out of over 580 announced for this year and between 15.000 and 20.000 yachts. According to the Naval Safety Inspector of the Port Authority of Kotor, Zeljko Lompar, there were several incident situations with injured persons but no casualties.
Although it is the end of August, when the main tourist season ends, the season at sea will last until November, says Lompar, and in addition to the arrival of cruisers, many more marathons and regattas are announced.
Lompar says the most common offenses recorded this summer are boats approaching close to the coast and speeding.
“The speed in Boka, regardless of the vessel in question, is 10 knots and in the straits of Verige and Kumbor 6 knots. Vessels must not approach the coast at full speed at a distance of 200 meters,” said Lompar.
So far, inspectors of the Port Authority of Kotor have issued about 120 misdemeanor warrants, and Lompar explains that the penalty for approaching the coast is 200 euros for persons and up to 2,000 for a company.
This year, he says, there are many more small high-speed vessels for which inspectors find difficult to prove speed, unless it is recorded on-site, because those vessels do not have an automatic identification system.
"We still expect the Maritime Safety Administration to install camera radars to make controls more effective," Lompar explains.
The area from the entrance to Boka to Platamun, under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority of Kotor, was covered by one inspector and two assistants (junior inspectors) and two vessels were available to them during the summer.
Lompar says they have been the "right-hand" patrols at sea on the MUP's Naval Unit. If necessary, they also use three vessels of the Maritime Safety Directorate, but only in "stricter" controls and incident situations.
Text by Radio Herceg Novi, on August 26th, 2019, read more at CdM
