20th anniversary: How SeaHelp established itself as a nautical breakdown service in Europe

Hardly any other name is as present in the world of nautical tourism in Europe as SeaHelp. What began in 2005 as the idea of Austrian Wolfgang Dauser has developed into a service provider with 31 bases throughout Europe. Modelled on the ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club) and ÖAMTC (Österreichischer Automobil-, Motorrad- und Touring Club), the breakdown service for water sports enthusiasts celebrated its 20th anniversary in the Croatian port city of Punat in June 2025.

The beginnings of SeaHelp

It all began in 1998 when Wolfgang Dauser took over a charter company in Croatia. At the time, the entrepreneur realised that the boating scene had changed. He remembers the early days: "We had customers who were on an island for two days and they called me at 2 o'clock in the morning. They couldn't sleep because a pump was running somewhere." The contractor then explained how they should go about solving the problem on board. However, they didn't want to do this and demanded that someone from the charter company come round.

The technical problems on Dauser's charter fleet became more frequent and so he began to build up a network of mechanics and helpers in Croatia - an investment that was initially unprofitable for the still small company, but laid the foundations for something bigger. The idea of establishing a boat breakdown service on the water slowly began to take shape.

A concept for the European market

After a few detours - including a bumpy co-operation with the US service provider SeaTow - Wolfgang Dauser decided to set up the concept independently for the European market: Dauser d.o.o. was founded in 2005, the company was renamed SeaHelp in 2008 and the eye-catching yellow inflatable boats began operating in Kvarner Bay. In the same summer, the ministry issued a regulation according to which the harbour authorities and coastal police were no longer allowed to tow boats in the event of technical problems in order to save costs. In addition, the infrastructure of the sea rescue services, in particular the SAR boats, should be kept free for rescue operations in Croatia. This is where SeaHelp comes in.

The company has thus developed from a provider of technical breakdown assistance to a service provider that represents the interests of water sports enthusiasts on a broad scale and also campaigns for their interests at a political level. These synergies were reflected at the anniversary celebration: in addition to a speech by the mayor of the municipality of Punat, Daniel Strčić, a priest blessed the four new boats that have been added to the fleet, along with the crews. Many visitors had the chance to take a ride on one of the Axopar and Technomarine emergency boats, which can reach speeds of up to 44 knots. They are each equipped with two 300 hp V6 engines from Yamaha.

SeaHelp in figures

SeaHelp currently has 233 employees. The number is spread across the bases in Croatia, Slovenia, the German Baltic coast, the Italian Adriatic coast, Lake Garda, the Balearic Islands, the Costa Brava and the Netherlands. SeaHelp has over 36,000 members across Europe, 22,000 of whom are in Croatia alone. "I have known many of our members for over 25 years, when they still had small boats - the years have passed and the boats have become bigger and bigger," says Marko Orlić, head of the operations centre in Punat.

This can be seen from the analyses. Two thirds of the members sail motor yachts, one third sailboats. "In terms of the missions actually undertaken, it's the other way round: two thirds are sailors, one third are motor yachtsmen," says Wolfgang Dauser. So far this year, 870 missions have been counted in the EU (as of 15 October). Last year, the figure was 983, with SeaHelp 2025 being called out most frequently because the boat had to be towed away, there were technical problems or there was no power on board.