The time of limited progress

Regardless of how much the public was focused on the elections for the town representation and its dissolution, the refurbishment of the port and the construction of the pier and the ship dock in 1894 were of vital importance for Karlobag. These works were accompanied by the refurbishment of the town waterfront (riva), which made Karlobag appear even more as a coastal city. The steamboats arrived regularly every day brining people and goods, connecting ports and coasts. The arrivals and departures of the steamboats were the central event in the life of the town with a multitude of people gathering on the coast curiously observing the passengers coming from the ships or expecting their friends and acquaintances. Moreover, they observed with the same interest the unloading and for whom certain goods were intended. In addition, they saw off their townsmen who travelled to Senj, Rijeka or Trieste, and even further. For example, in 1889 the town mayor Karlo Budak travelled to Vienna.

Apart from the regular steamboats, bigger or smaller sailing ships constantly entered the port bringing wine, oil and other products, not only from the nearby islands, but also from the Mediterranean ports. The coast and the port were always bustling with life: ships were unloaded or loaded, mostly with wood. In addition, there were also many with carts and horses bringing wood and taking back across the Velebit wine and other types of goods. Leading merchants and richer citizens of Karlobag had their own ships with which they sailed to Rijeka and Trieste or across the Adriatic and to the Italian ports. Those ships were operated by excellent captains and very skilled sailors.

At the end of 1879, there were 35 ships with the bearing capacity of 340 tons and 102 crewmembers in Karlobag owned by merchants and business people. Only three years later, the number dropped to 16 ships and 71 sailors.