Saturday 23 February 2008

Zagreb Boat Show - Day 4

It’s the first day of the weekend, the Zagreb boat show is awash with visitors, and we’ve been promised the full low down of news and statistics from the press office early next week. The Croatia Cruising Companion is doing well and, after a bit of a struggle for information on the boat show yesterday, we’ve been awash with that as well.

As promised yesterday, we have some more news on NCP’s new October Boat Show. The full details have yet to be drawn up but it seems that it will focus on used boats rather than new ones. That seems to be an entirely logical move for NCP who probably have the largest independent shipyard in Croatia for newbuilds and refits, suitable for megayachts and small boats alike.

Towards the end of last year, NCP announced a deal with IGY to develop Croatia’s first Megayacht marina, on and around their site in the Mandalina area of Šibenik. The boat show is obviously a neat step towards that, and to developing the synergy that exists between their existing shipbuilding facilities and Croatia as a potential superyacht haven. Hopefully NCP will be able to help persuade the Croatian Government to continue to try and improve the regulations that discouraged superyachts when I first reported on Croatia as a potential superyacht destination for Boat International back in early 2005. For more comment on this, link to Croatia Online - Boat Show Special April 2006.

Just how far NCP have come, in a short space of time, can be seen from a report we did on the Croatian shipbuilding industry Croatian Shipbuilding Industry back in February 2006.

More news next week when we’ve had a chance to assimilate and digest the information available, and perhaps spend a little time back on "dry ground" and on Croatia Online.

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