Croatia - Navy

The purpose and role of the Croatian Navy (HRM) is to defend the integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Croatia independently and in joint action with other services, to promote and protect its interest in the Adriatic Sea, islands and coast-lands. It carries and organises the naval defence of the Republic of Croatia and has an important role in the total state's military power.

Given Croatia’s geographic maritime characteristics of an extensive coastline and numerous islands, the Croatian Navy is faced with numerous challenges. The Navy must look to protect Croatia’s national interests in the Adriatic by developing a balanced set of forces and the necessary capabilities. These would be aimed at protecting Croatia’s territorial waters and ecological and fishing zones of interest. The Navy is also be expected to meet asymmetric threats and assure for free navigation in the Adriatic Sea. Likewise, it undertakes search and rescue tasks, contribute to defence diplomacy efforts, provide host nation support to Croatia’s allies and assist civil institutions.

The Croatian Navy jurisdiction encompasses the territorial sea, islands, inner sea waters and deep waters over which the republic of Croatia exercises full sovereignty and sovereign rights for the exploitation of the sea waters and the sea floor. The Croatian Navy is included in: search and rescue activities, maritime traffic control, prevention of criminal and other illegal acts by ships, protection of natural resources and the environment, assistance to ships, assistance in fire fighting activities, as well as during other disaster relief activities.

Within the scope of command and in the defence responsibility over the area, the Croatian Navy has the territorial sea, islands, internal sea and offshore zone over which the Republic of Croatia realises a complete sovereignty and sovereign rights of exploiting the offshore and the seabed, pursuant to provisions of the Constitution and The Maritime Code. Within its responsibility and beyond in the Adriatic Sea it has to be compatible and ready for accepting, supporting and co-operating with the international combined Multinational Joint Task Forces (CTJF) and to be equipped and trained for tasks within CJTF.

The Croatian Navy fulfils its role by preparing itself and carrying out the following main tasks:

• Deterring the threat to the Republic of Croatia by maintaining high level of competence, training and technical quality of equipment
• Constant control of the Adriatic Sea and coast-land and monitoring of foreign war ships' movement
• Strengthening of the safety conditions on the Adriatic Sea and preserving the integrity of the maritime borders
• Implementation of the program "Partnership for Peace in the Mediterranean"

Taking into consideration present structure and the age of vessels, the Croatian navy is inadequate for future tasks of successful deterrence, participation in international operations as well as protection of national interests in peacetime. Using the experience of countries like Finland and Israel as the starting point, along with world tendencies in development of fleets of small countries, there are being studied possible types of medium-term development of the Croatian navy along with the development of traditionally structured or modular fleet and their advantages and disadvantages, taking into account Croatian needs and capacity as well as possible participation in transnational defence organizations.

Also within the Navy's composition is the Coast Guard, which is vital to strategically protecting the Adriatic Sea. Tasks and duties are the protection of the sovereign rights and the implemenlation of the RepubliC of Croatia's jurisdiction in the protected ecological and fishing zone, in the continental shelf and at open sea.

The Croatian Navy Command participated in the process of professional development of personnel in the maritime service and the maritime technical service within the overall CAF, as well as in other expert jobs that are in the interest of the CAF as a whole. The Navy will for the most part be manned with active personnel. With an aim to enable manning of the active component, up to 200 sailor-trainees will be in the Navy per year in 2 cycles. Training of sailor-trainees and members of the active component will be conducted by the Navy Training Centre. A Navy Command logistic support unit will be organised within the Navy Command company as well as a signals unit and military police unit for the needs of the Navy service.

During the process of Navy reform, the following changes are planned:

• abolishment of the Navy fleet and military-naval sectors
• organizing of fleet for fulfilment of traditional naval tasks
• organizing of the Croatian Coast Guard
• organizing a naval infantry battalion consisting of an active/reserve component (to be stationed at the South naval military base when conditions are met)
• professionalisation and downsizing of the Navy size to a maximum of 1 650 personnel.

The modernization of the Croatian Navy is not only a question of new technology but also of new people. The navy is a combination of experienced sea dogs from the Homeland War and a growing number of young cadre who is entering the system. The Croatian Navy permanently work on their professional-military training and on creating better conditions for their life and work in Croatian naval bases. The number of those bases has decreased, but in this case this decrease means that attention is directed towards facilities that have characteristics more suitable to the actual requirements of the Croatian Navy.