Over three decades on the Adriatic, NCP & mare has built a name associated with order, reliability, and high standards. Paško Klisović, who has led the company since 2005, speaks about how that reputation was built, from the careful selection of vessels to the way the fleet is maintained. In the interview, he reflects on the journey from the company’s early years to its base in Šibenik, explains why fleet growth was never a goal in itself, and discusses how education, sustainability, and the people within the company help preserve quality
How would you describe the development path of NCP & mare over the past thirty years?
From the beginning, the idea was to offer guests and clients something different and, if possible, something better, across the vessel, the service, the people, and the destination. The company was founded in 1995, and in 1996 the first season followed, along with an order of motor yachts (Sunseeker, Princess, Fairline). That was the first contingent of boats we started with.
There were many boats and a strong charter market on the Adriatic even then, but the vessels were mostly similar: sailing yachts and smaller powerboats. The idea of the founders, three men from Primošten, was to create something different, so the offer would clearly stand apart from what was already available. We started with a fleet of more luxurious British motor yachts, and after the second year we began to consider sailing yachts as well.
That was followed by a partnership with Elan, which was among the higher-quality brands on the market at the time. The plan was for six Elan sailing yachts to arrive from Slovenia to Primošten in 1997. From that delivery came the idea of a regatta from Izola to Primošten, together with friends, skippers, and people from the industry. Since everything took place around Easter, the Easter Regatta was born, and we still organize it today.
In 2001, we entered into cooperation with Grand Soleil, as a logical continuation of the sailing-yacht story. A colleague, Boris Miškić, then the company’s director and also a passionate competitive sailor, established contact with the Cantiere del Pardo shipyard so that we could take on the Grand Soleil dealership.
Although at the time many believed luxury motor yachts, and later luxury Grand Soleil sailing yachts, would be harder to charter, it turned out then, and it remains true today, that demand is strong. We started gradually, with one to two models, and then the offer grew. The owner who purchased the first Grand Soleil through us is still with us, now already with a third Grand Soleil sailing yacht. Within three years, a fleet of 10 to 12 sailing yachts was formed. It was an excellent foundation for regattas and team-building programs, at a level above the typical charter average.
Out of our fleet of 80 vessels, about 25 are owned by us, and we believe that this direct choice, and owning our own boats within the fleet, keeps us much closer to real market developments. That is how we follow demand and supply, prices, discounts, and costs. Most companies operate under a management model, taking a margin while the business risk remains with the owner and investor. Our policy is that we are both the operator and the investor at the same time. That keeps us in direct contact with the realities of the market.
You are known for top-tier service and yacht selection. How do you maintain quality standards in your fleet?
Right after founding the company, alongside the decision to focus on the motor yacht segment, the priority was to secure service support and logistics. At Marina Kremik in Primošten, berths, the existing service area, and a charter office with reception were taken over so the fleet could be maintained both technically and operationally, in every segment. That model lasted for many years.
In 2004, the company grew to the point where it could no longer remain at Marina Kremik, so NCP took over a former military shipyard in Šibenik. During 2004 and 2005, the transition from Primošten to Šibenik took place, again aligned with the founding idea, but this time on a much larger scale. Previously, the service area was about 100 m², and at this location we gained a shipyard, a team of people who remained there, specialists, and equipment.
In another part of the site, where there used to be a dump for waste from the entire shipbuilding process, an area was designated for building a marina. It took a lot of time to put everything in order and clear the site of waste and wrecks. In 2005, we finally moved and began operations. The structure on that site included the NCP shipyard, the first phase of building NCP Marina Mandalina, and the NCP charter operation, which relocated there. Later, a structure of three separate companies was formed, operating in a connected way.
It clearly shows how important the link between technical operations and the shipyard is, where a smaller specialized company was later formed, because the shipyard could not handle minor engine repairs, for example on a 20 hp engine. That is why it made sense to have a specialized service for vessels within the marina itself, including charter.
All of that still exists today. In the meantime, the marina was sold to the D-Marin Group, the shipyard was taken over by the Slovenian company ISKRA, and NCP, joining forces with Pina i Mare as Nautical Center Pina i Mare, continued to develop the charter business, together with the previously mentioned service company in the marina, with which it works closely and which today maintains a charter fleet of 80 boats.
You have made an excellent selection of brands, both for motor yachts and sailing yachts. You mentioned Grand Soleil, but today you also work with Dufour sailing yachts. What influenced that choice?
The guiding idea behind our charter development was to have both a premium brand and an upper-tier brand that remains accessible to a broader client base. With that in mind, we were very deliberate in choosing what we wanted to bring to the market.
In our fleet, alongside Grand Soleil as a top-tier and more exclusive brand, we also wanted a sailing yacht that delivers a high level of quality while remaining more attainable. In that context, Dufour proved to be a natural choice. Then, as now, the brand offered yachts with a distinct character: above all, family cruisers, but also models that, depending on their configuration, can deliver a more performance-oriented potential. That is exactly why we see Dufour as a brand that stands well above average, while still remaining within realistic price levels for a market looking for quality, performance, and comfort, whether for private ownership or as an investment purchase.
Responding to charter-market demand, we also introduced Fountaine Pajot catamarans alongside Dufour. The two brands are part of the same group, and our cooperation model is built on our role as a brand partner and authorized dealer for both.
At the same time, our offer includes other popular brands such as Beneteau, Jeanneau, Hanse, and Lagoon.
We apply the same approach in the motorboat segment, where Marex is our core brand. We have been its exclusive dealer for almost ten years. When we took on the representation, Marex was still primarily known as a Norwegian brand with strong local recognition, highly valued among enthusiasts and connoisseurs of Scandinavian boatbuilding. This coincided with a period of strong development for Marex from 2017 onwards. Alongside increased production, the yard introduced new models that genuinely captured what the market was looking for in terms of design, functionality, technical refinement and seaworthiness. The clearest confirmation of that is the series of Boat of the Year awards Marex has received over the past few seasons.
For those just entering boating, we believe it makes sense to offer vessels in the 6 to 8 m range. We are in the final stage of negotiations with a Norwegian small-boat brand. Clients can expect the same approach we have built over the years: carefully selected models, proven build quality, and boats that are practical for everyday use, backed by the service standard they already know.
NCP & mare is an authorized RYA training center, a prestigious standard in nautical education. What motivated you to include these programs, and how do you believe education contributes to the development of nautical tourism in Croatia?
The RYA story came through cooperation with our then charter broker and, in time, a friend, Eddy Coenen, who had his own RYA school in Belgium. For years we exhibited together at the show in Ghent, where we were the only exhibitors from Croatia, and unfortunately the show has since been discontinued. Eddy worked as an agent, sent guests our way, and gradually began directing his trainees from Belgium to Croatia, to us, for practical training.
Already in the pre-season we reached the point where entire flotillas were formed, and he realized: why not spend even more time on the Adriatic. He closed his school in Belgium, and we recognized the opportunity to create a joint school. That is how we formed a joint RYA center: we as the organizer, and him as the chief licensed instructor, which was the key requirement to launch the program. It started modestly, based on Belgian clients and trainees, and today we have reached the point where we lack instructors for everyone who wants that training.
That is also logical, because there are three key groups of trainees: those entering boating for the first time, amateur sailors who want a serious upgrade of their knowledge, and professionals who need an internationally recognized license for work.
All of these categories are equally important and directly contribute to increased safety at sea. For nautical tourism, that means a more educated and safer guest, lower risk in navigation, more confidence in the destination, and a higher standard of service. Naturally, trainees who enter boating and raise their level of knowledge often become guests of our charter fleet as well, guests who truly understand the boat and the responsibility at sea. We see that this is in demand. We also have many people who, during a seven-day vacation, set aside five days for an intensive course, individual or group. We have especially many trainees from the UK, the US, and Canada, who come to Croatia on holiday and return home with a license backed by real knowledge.
Courses and exams are held exclusively in English. The program also includes training in tidal waters, even though the training takes place in Croatia, so each trainee can later go to the Baltic or the North Sea, where that difference is significant. People are looking for education and knowledge, and at the same time they want to combine vacation with learning, so they naturally develop into future boaters.
What do you see as the key trends in nautical tourism over the next few years? How does NCP plan to respond to the challenges of sustainable development?
So far, we have operated with the view that fleet growth is not a priority. Our ambition has never been to chase big numbers, because we are aware that it would jeopardize the level of quality that is our absolute priority, both in terms of comfort and safety on board and in terms of responsibility toward the investor who purchased the vessel and entrusted it to us. That is why we consider the number of boats we have to be optimal in relation to our level of service and in relation to sustainable development.
We view sustainability through three levels: ecology, economics, and people. We confirm that long-term sustainability through our team, because employees have been with the company for an average of about 12 years, and we have those who have been with us for 20 years and longer. That is not just a wish, it is something that has been realized, and it is a very concrete dimension of sustainability.
The second dimension is our relationship with the space and resource we live from. The industry suffers when fleets pile up, so we make sure that growth is controlled and does not negatively impact destinations.
The third dimension relates to our partnership with Green Sail, which focuses on raising awareness of sustainability in the nautical industry and is recognized for the way it puts those ideas into practice. The focus is on educating marina and charter teams, as well as educating guests.
Our minimum is compliance with regulations, including, for example, equipping vessels with blackwater tanks, and that is taken for granted. In parallel, we work on a series of practical steps: cleaning vessels with as few harmful chemicals as possible, as well as testing a hull-applied film as an alternative to conventional coatings. It is still in the testing phase, and if it proves effective, it will be useful because it is applied less often and should have a smaller impact on the sea. For several years now, we have been replacing small fuel outboard engines with electric ones. There are also small but meaningful steps, such as reusable canvas bags we provide to guests to reduce the use of plastic bags. The key is that awareness has appeared, and small steps, when systematic, lead to bigger shifts.
This is a responsibility for all of us as individuals, but also for the state, which should financially encourage solutions in that direction, such as the installation of solar panels and electric propulsion systems.
A lot more effort is still needed, but as a charter association in Croatia, through the Croatian Chamber of Commerce we initiate the need for a development study, that is, a calculation of carrying capacity. Such a calculation would clearly show how many vessels are desirable in a given area, because the problem is often not only the total number, but concentration at a few hotspots.
We see that, for example, Hvar or Vis are filled during the season, while the Šibenik and Zadar archipelagos have room, of course if local communities want that.
Redistribution of traffic would bring progress both environmentally and in terms of the experience. Guests often feel better where there are two or three boats at the berth, rather than 30, and there are many such places in Croatia. Guests should be guided toward such locations, and the Šibenik archipelago is accessible, not saturated, and more cost-effective.
With a marina in Šibenik, we have an excellent starting point for those who want to head to Hvar, Vis, or Brač, and the Kornati and Krka national parks are practically on our doorstep. That is why, at the moment, one base is enough for us, and with a fleet that covers segments from motor catamarans, through sailing yachts, to luxury crewed yachts, we can respond to different guest preferences.
The best confirmation that this approach works is guests who have been returning since our earliest years, and many of those relationships have, over time, become friendships. These are the key things that keep us stable: Šibenik’s location, a tradition visible in continuity of quality, a vessel selection that is different from most offers, and people who have grown within the company from support roles to serious positions. The company follows people, people follow the company, and together they grow. That is rare today and worth preserving.
