A love letter from a sailor to his sweetheart back in Croatia is finally on its way to its intended, more than 12 years after it was written.

Penned on board the container ship MV Bulk Americas by Nikola Bulas, the letter, written in Croatian, was translated by Darko Oreskovic, manager of Victoria Grill and Rumbar.

Impressed by the letter’s poetic language, Mr Oreskovic called it “perfectly written”, likening some of its turns of phrase to Shakespeare.

Not everything makes it through the translation: Mr Bulas’s reference to a nutshell, for example, is a metaphor in the Croatian language for a person who feels closed off and hardened by life.

The letter was placed inside a bottle and tossed overboard at an unknown location on March 10, 2003 — and was found on August 9 by local resident Al Thomas, who was out on his boat and retrieved what he took to be floating debris.

It was addressed to Vesna Cvjetovic in the city of Rijeka, Croatia’s main port, on the Adriatic coast. It reads:

“My love, only the vast seas are between us, separating us all these years of being together.

“Let the sea be merciful in all of its mighty power, let it envelop this human nutshell lost in the big blue, because God knows his sea is so vast and the ship is so small.

“I love you and I am writing this message woven with love, hope and desire.

“Let the ocean winds and the sea current take it far away and land it where some good soul will find it and send it to you, who for many years have wistfully been thinking about our past, hoping for our present and looking forward to some future days spent together in happiness, peace and love.”

It seemed only fair to send the letter on — which, to the tune of $1.35, we did, including a short message of goodwill from Bermuda, plus contact details.

According to the Bermuda Postal Service, the letter will likely set off on Monday, and could take a week to reach Croatia.

It may be out of date: 12 years is a long time.

However, The Royal Gazette hopes to liaise with media in Rijeka and share any response with our readers.