Brodosplit

Brief information

The shipyard in Supaval Bay is interesting not because of a symbolic building, but because of the scale of its work: Brodosplit can build and launch vessels up to 280 meters long and with a displacement of up to 166,000 tons. Therefore, this place is best read as an industrial coastal site where the shape of the shore and access to the water are directly connected to its purpose.

The company has been at its current location since 1932, and in the second half of the 20th century it quickly grew into one of Croatia’s largest shipyards. The main clue to understanding the place is the variety of vessels that have come out of it: tankers, container ships, bulk carriers, passenger vessels, warships, platforms, yachts, ferries, and specialized vessels for international clients.

What to notice first

It makes sense to look at Brodosplit through three physical things: the coastal site in the bay, the place where vessels are launched, and the very types of ships for which this infrastructure exists. Supaval Bay explains why the shipyard became established right by the water; the maximum vessel dimensions show that the space is designed not for a repair workshop, but for large-scale construction.

One particular detail changes the way you see the shipyard more than a dry list of orders: the Orange Star tanker was built here to transport freshly squeezed orange juice in fourteen sterile refrigerated tanks. Alongside this fact, other projects read differently as well: two record-setting floating cranes with a pair of cranes on deck, warships from the BSO division, ferries, and catamarans. The general principle is simple: one shipyard appears as a set of different tasks transformed into different hulls.