Floating booms, skimmers and tanks for oily water: the Coast Guard and Plovput trained together in the port area. This was an exercise, not an actual oil spill.
Off Ploče they were training, not cleaning up
On 2 and 3 September, the Croatian Coast Guard and maritime services company Plovput jointly trained their response to marine pollution in the wider waters of Ploče port. The aim was to handle equipment for preventing and removing the spread of pollution safely.
The visible booms and workboats can resemble a real operation. The Ministry of Defence, however, explicitly describes a two-day inter-agency exercise. No actual oil spill was reported.
Four vessels with different roles
The Coast Guard ship SB-73 ‘Faust Vrančić’ and support boat ‘Modrulj 3’ took part. Plovput deployed the vessels ‘Plovput Split’ and ‘Nehaj’. The responsible maritime and transport ministry supplied the specialist marine-protection equipment.
Such a deployment distributes equipment, personnel and manoeuvres across several platforms. Which vessel would handle which zone in a real emergency depends on location, weather, substance, quantity and incident command. The exercise roster is not a general response plan for every port.
Step one: slow the spread
Floating booms are intended to contain pollution on the water surface or keep it away from sensitive stretches of coast. Their sections must be connected, anchored appropriately and aligned with the wind and current.
A boom alone removes nothing. It buys time and concentrates material in an area that other equipment can process. In heavy seas or unfavourable currents, even a correctly deployed barrier reaches physical limits.
Step two: recover and store safely
Skimmers recover floating oil or contaminated surface water. Hoses carry the mixture into designated containers. In Ploče the crews also practised using tanks for oily water.
That does not automatically complete the task. Collected liquid must be secured, transported and treated properly. The ministry's statement focuses on operations at sea and gives no real waste volume because the scenario was simulated.
Why the coast needs its own line of defence
Oil in open water is already problematic; on rocks, beaches, harbour walls or in shallow habitats, cleaning often becomes considerably more difficult. Protecting the coastal area from further spread was therefore also part of the exercise.
Shipping, industry, currents and sensitive shoreline sit close together in a port area. The training off Ploče therefore tested not just individual pieces of equipment, but above all the coordinated work of several crews and institutions under real conditions at sea.
A successful exercise is not proof against every emergency
The Ministry of Defence rated the joint activity successful and highlighted the cooperation. This establishes that the intended procedures and coordination were practised.
It does not establish that every real spill could be controlled with the same speed or effectiveness. An emergency may occur at night, in bad weather, with an unknown substance or on a different type of coast. Exercises reduce uncertainty; they do not eliminate it.
What matters when you see a real incident
Anyone who sees a suspicious film on the water, smells strong fuel fumes or witnesses a visible discharge should keep their distance, note the place and time as precisely as possible, and alert the responsible authorities or 112. Attempting a clean-up independently can be dangerous and may disturb evidence.
Photographs help only when taken from a safe distance without obstructing responders. The Ploče exercise is a glimpse behind the scenes of a professional response—not a reason to interpret every dark patch on the water as an oil slick.
Evidence
Sources & date
Sources support the facts. Planning notes and recommendations are Golden Beach editorial assessments.
Time-sensitive information may change. Please check the linked primary source before travelling.
