Distress at sea: Croatia and Italy - SeaHelp deployments increase slightly in 2024
Swimming accidents, technical problems and more: the need for professional assistance on the water remains high, as analysed by SeaHelp this season. In the period from 1 January to 15 October, a total of 463 search and rescue missions were carried out at sea.
The 74 per cent increase in medical assistance was particularly striking. There was also an increase in the number of swimming accidents (up from 7 to 18) and injuries (up from 18 to 28), according to the press release. In comparison, there was less material damage: the number of collisions fell by 67 per cent and the number of boats sunk by 50 per cent.
SeaHelp missions in Croatia increase slightly
Compared to the previous year, the number of SeaHelp operations in Croatia increased by more than 2.4 per cent, as Managing Director Wolfgang Dauser reports. There was a particularly significant increase in the number of recoveries of pleasure craft, fuel (+18 per cent) and technical problems (+14 per cent compared to 2023) as well as power failures (+70 per cent compared to the previous year) on board. There was a 30 per cent increase in the number of recreational craft salvages compared to the previous year.
The largest yacht SeaHelp had to tow
The SeaHelp rescue boats covered a total of nine per cent more nautical miles to help boats and yachts seeking help or in distress. Journey times were further reduced in order to minimise waiting times for those affected.
The largest boat that had to be towed this season was a 28.5 metre long and 7.50 metre wide motorsailer. The boat was unable to manoeuvre due to rudder damage. The two rescue boats "Korčula" and "Šolta" were able to tow the 155-tonne yacht safely to the ACI marina five hours away.
Decrease in operations in Italy
In Italy, on the other hand, there was a slight decrease in SeaHelp's call-out figures of three per cent compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, the breakdown service was also in high demand there, particularly for assistance due to slight grounding and fuel problems on board.
About SeaHelp
SeaHelp is a private breakdown and recovery service for pleasure craft to provide assistance in non-life-threatening situations. Similar to breakdown assistance on the road, such as the ADAC (Germany) and ÖAMTC (Austria), assistance on the water is also offered to non-members, but SeaHelp members have priority and do not have to pay for the operations. There are currently 31 bases across Europe with powerful and specially equipped rescue boats: on the German Baltic coast, in Croatia, Slovenia, on the Italian Adriatic coast, on the Balearic Islands, on the Costa Brava, in the Netherlands and on Lake Garda. Dauser d.o.o. was founded in 2005 as the first European organisation of its kind and was renamed SeaHelp in 2008. SeaHelp has evolved from a pure breakdown service for pleasure craft into an organisation that represents the interests of water sports enthusiasts on a broad scale and also campaigns for their interests at a political level.
- Further information: sea-help.eu
