The Port of Šibenik is one of the oldest and best-sheltered ports on the Croatian part of the Adriatic coast (43° 44' N, 15° 53' E). It is located at the inundated river Krka estuary, which forms a unique natural resort 75 kilometers long with an altitude difference of 360 meters.

St. Ante channel

The Port is naturally sheltered from waves and winds, and is accessed through St. Ante's channel (2700 meters long and 120-300 meters wide), which enables access for vessels up to 50 000 DWT.
Total port surface is 430 ha (348 ha of sea surface). The port is 10 kilometers long, 300-1200 meters wide with depths between 8-40 meters.
Average sea salinity in the port is 18-20 per mill on the surface and 35.4 per mill at the depth of 4 meters.

Speed of current in St. Ante's channel varies from 0.5 to 2.5 knots, depending on the season, i.e. water level in the Krka river.
Tidal range fluctuations are insignificant, ranging from 0.25m to 1.10m.

Winds in the Port of Šibenik
Predominantly Šilok and Bura (N 11%, NE 18%, SE 14%) for most of the year, with significant periods of wind absence (27%). Winds of 6 Beaufort and stronger (SE, NE) blow 15 days per year during the winter.

Function and connections to the mainland
The port specializes in transfer of scattered cargo with a capacity of 2 million tons per year provided the functionality of railway links to the inland (Šibenik - Knin - Oštarije - Zagreb, and Šibenik - Knin - Bosanski Novi - Zagreb). The Port of Šibenik is connected with the rest of the coastline by the Adriatic road, and with continental Croatia and Europe by the Šibenik - Benkovac - Obrovac - Karlovac - Zagreb road/highway.

The role of the Port of Šibenik is tied to coal excavation in Drniš-Siverić basin, which started in 1834 with quantities of 60-70 thousand tons per year. The coal has been exported to Trieste, Syria, Turkey and Egypt. Construction of the Siverić - Šibenik railroad in 1877 connected the Port of Šibenik to the mainland. Construction of operational docks began in 1906 and was completed by 1921 in the length of 437 meters.

In 1910 the Port acquired its first cargo loading bridge cranes. Opening of Lika railway in 1925 significantly improved links between the Port of Šibenik and the mainland. Around that time, pier "Vrulje" was constructed, with 346 meters of operational dock and an average depth of 7-10 meters.

At the beginning of 1949, the Mid Adriatic Ports Authority was established with headquarters in Split and a branch office in Šibenik. In 1948/49, 113 meters of pier Vrulje have been reconstructed. After the opening of Unska railway in 1949 the Port of Šibenik recorded a traffic increase, hence the Port finished the construction of 144 meters long Dobrika dock in 1949 and started the construction of a scattered cargo depot and a dock on Rogač peninsula. By 1954, 125 meters of dock on Rogač peninsula were constructed, and with 67 000 m2 of open space, the Port of Šibenik established itself as a scattered cargo port. In 1958, the Port installed mobile and bridge cranes at Dobrika and Rogač docks, and constructed the railway link to the switching yard Ražine through the southern part of the Port, where own switching yard was constructed.

After constructing a scattered cargo terminal in 1982, the Port specialized in raw phosphates and mineral fertilizer handling.

Luka-Šibenik , tel : ++385 (0) 22 213 033 , e-mail : luka@lukasibenik.hr