The crew of the 205th Navy's rapid intervention patrol boat has been nominated for the highest regional recognition in the field of humanity and heroism at sea, the Blue Ribbon of the Vjesnik, awarded by the Croatian Seafarers' Union.
The ship's crew, under the command of Senior Warrant Officer 1st Class Nikola Bajčeta, was nominated for this award by the famous Croatian skier and extreme athlete Ivica Kostečić, who, together with Kostelić's friend - Frenchman Mathieu Majnadir, was rescued by PČ 205 from stormy seas in Albanian waters near Ada Bojana on March 10th.
Kostelić and Majnadir were kayaking at the mouth of the Bojana River at the time, but stormy seas and large waves dragged them further from the shore, capsizing and sinking one of their two kayaks. A helicopter from the Army of Montenegro also participated in the search for the two missing men, and the operation was launched in the evening when information arrived via the Maritime Operations Center in Bar that two men were in the sea a few miles from Ada Bojana.
The Croatian Maritime Union, which awards this award, announced that members of the Navy of the Army of Montenegro Nikola Bajčeta, commander of patrol boat 205; Mihailo Miletić, commander of patrol boat 206; Milija Rmuš, deputy commander of patrol boat 205, and Haris Hasković, sailor, were nominated for the feat they performed in the stormy waters of the Adriatic near the mouth of the Bojana River on March 10.
"Darkness, large waves and rain made the search for the two kayakers who were swept away by the storm from the mouth of the Bojana River into Albanian waters more difficult. The Bell 412 helicopter of the Montenegrin Air Force also participated in this search and rescue operation, whose four-member crew used a thermal imaging camera to detect and locate Kostelić and Majnadir in the sea. However, due to problems with communication links, they were unable to notify their colleagues on patrol boat 205. The helicopter crew consisted of: Major Milan Joksimović, helicopter captain; Major Boško Kuveljić, co-pilot; Captain Lazar Novićević, thermal imaging camera operator and Warrant Officer Dejan Perović, flight technician. According to Joksimović, they used a spotlight to illuminate the two kayakers in the sea, and the helicopter circled over them to make it easier for their colleagues on the patrol boat to rescue Ivica and Menadier. Kostelić spent five hours in the sea at a temperature of "The search and rescue operation ended shortly after 23 p.m., when patrol boat 205 returned to the port of Bar," the Croatian Seafarers' Union stated in a description of the operation for which rescuers from Montenegro were nominated for the Vjesnik Blue Ribbon.
This year's Vjesnik Blue Ribbon was awarded for the 61st time at a ceremony in Opatija on December 1. A total of eight sea-based ventures were nominated for the Vjesnik Blue Ribbon 2025, two in the individual competition and six in the team competition.
The Blue Ribbon in the individual competition was awarded to Mario Popovac from Omiš, who saved about seventy people during a major fire in Marušići. He transported about 70 people, including a large number of children, women and elderly people with limited mobility, from the beach where they had taken refuge from the fire to the ships of several port authorities, the maritime police and the Croatian Ministry of Defense – located about a hundred meters from the coast, on which they were then transported to Omiš.
Also competing for the individual Ribbon was Captain Pero Šutalo from Cavtat, commander of the cruise ship "Brilliance of the Seas", who rescued 11 Cubans in the Gulf of Mexico.
In the team competition, the winners of the Vjesnik Blue Ribbon 2025 are the residents of Premuda. Last November, they rescued 72 passengers from the badly damaged catamaran "Prince of Zadar" which was sinking off the island in Croatia.
Among the nominees in the team competition was the crew of the Montenegrin patrol boat 205. Also competing were four locals from Novi Vinodolski, Tin Buneta, Erik and Raul Čemeljić and Kristjan Berisha, who rescued 15 people from the sea during the season, fishermen from Pula Nikola Simić and Mario Mrđenović, who pulled the tourist boat "Srebrno" off the water, Luko Radović, Asmir Šahinović and Antonio Lang from Cavtat, who rescued two French 16-year-olds from stormy seas, the Pula Harbour Master's Office, and the Croatian Coast Guard and the Croatian Air Force, whose crews located and rescued an Italian couple after their boat sank off the coast of Istria.
The significance of the nomination of the crew of the PČ 205 for this award is further demonstrated by the fact that members of the Montenegrin Army are the first foreign citizens nominated for the Blue Ribbon of Vjesnik after more than 45 years, which confirms the significance of their undertaking, as well as the respect that their rescue operation has aroused in the regional maritime community.
The Blue Ribbon of Vjesnik is an award given for saving people and property at sea. The award was conceived back in 1966 by writer Ratko Zvrko, at the time editor of the "maritime" section of the Croatian daily newspaper "Vjesnik". "Vjesnik" is a newspaper that covered topics from the public, political, social and economic life of Croatia. After it ceased to exist as a newspaper in 2012, the Blue Ribbon of Vjesnik was taken over by the Croatian Seamen's Union and protected as its property.
The Blue Ribbon of Vjesnik is a project that runs throughout the year, collecting nominations and making videos with seafarers who have been responsible for rescues, and the award ceremony organized in December each year is the grand finale. The best of the best, the bravest of the brave, is chosen by the Blue Ribbon of Vjesnik Committee.
The award is given in individual and team competitions. Winners in the individual competition receive a gold ring and a silk pennant, while the award in the team competition consists of a silver plaque and a silk pennant. Also, all nominees receive a plaque as a memento of their nomination for this prestigious award.
Kostelić: They became my brothers
"The 'Blue Ribbon of the Herald' is a light that illuminates those unknown heroes of the sea, the brightest examples of human courage and kindness. This award is one of the greatest treasures of our maritime heritage. Even as a child, when I followed the movement of ships on the 'Naval Evening' with interest, dreaming of distant shores, I was aware of the 'Blue Ribbon of the Herald'. Stories of brave deeds would always ignite my boyish imagination, so I imagined those nameless heroes in battle with the sea. And then yesterday I got the chance to shake their hands.
Earlier this year, at the suggestion of a friend, I nominated my rescuers from the Navy of the Army of Montenegro who pulled me onto their boat from the cold sea at the mouth of the Bojana River, on the very border of Albania and Montenegro, on the night of March 10. After my kayak sank, I held on and swam alongside my partner Mathieu Maynadier's kayak and spent five hours in the 9°C water, carried by the current of the river's overflow that pulled us towards the open sea. After a series of fortunate and unfortunate circumstances and after the lack of reaction from the responsible services in the area, a rescue operation was launched from the Montenegrin side.
In the hours of uncertainty, I wondered who these people would be, the ones who would pull me out, and how I would ever be able to thank them? When they were finally beside us, their ship was rolling on the rough sea, the shadows of the sailors quickly disappearing behind the searchlights. I had not seen their faces when I first stumbled onto the deck of the patrol boat. I hugged and kissed each of them - I did not know who they were, and they did not know who I was. We were only human.
"We met later, but we were no longer just acquaintances, we were not even friends; we were brothers. And in Opatija I was able to hug my brothers again. The maritime community paid tribute to them and I was able to applaud them," Kostelić wrote on Facebook on this occasion.
Bonus video:
