Analysis of the influence of meteorological conditions on maritime accidents in the Adriatic

The Adriatic Sea, which represents a bay of the Mediterranean Sea, belongs to the group of very narrow seas with all the elements of littoral sea, which particularly relates to the Croatian part. Based on the fact that mari-time traffic in the Adriatic Sea is constantly growing, there is an increase in maritime accidents. This particular growth indicates the necessity of constant surveillance over the maritime situation and tracking of floating ob-jects in all, and especially in poor weather conditions. There are a number of meteorological phenomena which directly limit and endanger the flow of maritime traffic ; hence they deserve to be given special attention. Commercial seamanship has very much reduced dependency on weather conditions, but profitability and con-tinuity of sailing still depend on it. Maritime meteorology materially participates in safety, continuity and effi-ciency of maritime traffic by studying meteorological elements and phenomena from the viewpoint of influ-ence on sailing technique and conditions. Ignoring the weather conditions leads to unfulfilled sailing tasks, sometimes even accidents, evidenced by numerous accidents of smaller and even passenger ships. This paper will analyze maritime traffic and accidents in the Croatian part of the Adriatic regarding poor weather condi-tions with particular accent on the recognition of the importance of maritime meteorology in sailing safety sys-tem.