The chief inspector of navigation safety in Boka Kotorska, Željko Lompar, is not a zealous civil servant who does his job responsibly, but a pirate who pursues foreign yachtsmen in order to take their money. This is claimed by a certain captain WC Tell, who sent an email with serious accusations on Lompar's account to the addresses of inspectors and several officials of the Government of Montenegro, including the director of the Maritime Directorate in the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs, Captain Vladan Radonjić.
Tell forwarded the protest email to John Stevens, director of mooring sales at the Porto Montenegrto marina in Tivat, to several representatives of local maritime agencies that represent foreign mega and superyachts, as well as to the addresses of several captains of these luxury vessels.
"Your fraudulent money-making scheme that you use to set traps for sailors and yacht captains in Boka Kotorska, in order to blackmail them into giving you bribes, is disgusting and tarnishes the good name of Tivat, especially since you are doing it using the authority of the official institution of the inspector of navigation safety. You are an ordinary pirate, not an inspector," WC Tell wrote in an email to Lompar, calling him "a shame for his country and a shame for the good people of Tivat and Montenegro."
"Because of what you're doing here, you should end up in prison," he wrote in an email that "Vijesti" had access to.
Lompar, by the way, enjoys the image of one of the most zealous and strict officials of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Transport, and his work is usually complained about by many - from local boat managers to skippers of foreign yachts, because this inspector equally punishes everyone who in one way or another found in violation of regulations at sea.
He has unforgivingly "cut off" many fines to foreign and domestic yachtsmen who are among the most frequent violators of regulations, and the state, as a rule, tries to protect them or looks through their fingers in the name of "encouraging environment for the development of yachting".
Fines are most often related to non-compliance with the sailing speed limit in Boka, which is a maximum of 10 knots in the bay, i.e. 6 knots in the Kumborska and Verige straits, and the "elite yachting community" is particularly affected by the fact that Lompar has recently scratched the extremely lucrative and Maltene completely the uncontrolled business of the so-called black charter, i.e. the illegal issuing and renting of sports and recreational vessels and yachts, in which millions are made.
Thus, according to the information of "Vijesti", Lompar initiated on several occasions in the past few days that the Tourist Inspection finally starts controlling vessels that are black chartered, during which the inspection imposed three fines in the amount of 2.500 euros each in the most drastic cases.
In an email to Lompar, Captain WC Tell tells the inspector that "his time is up" and that the fact that Lompar is the brother of the former minister (and SD official Dr. Andrija Lompar - editor's note) "does not give him the right to rob, steal and blackmail yachts that visit and at the same time bring money and jobs for the good people of Montenegro".
Tell, however, does not mention the black charter, nor Lompar's activities to prevent illegality in that business, but primarily blames the inspector for punishing yachtsmen for sailing too fast in the bay.
"We have asked you many times to put up speed limit signs, but you have done nothing. Others have offered to pay for those signs to be put up. You avoid it. I understand - why would you put up those signs when you have an elaborate money-making corruption network set up in the Boka Straits. Many captains and yacht owners have paid you bribes to reduce their fines. It's a good job mr. Lompar, if you have several such cases every day," claims Tell, who says that he allegedly has evidence for his claims and that his story about Lompar will be confirmed by many of his fellow yacht captains.
"Finally, to you from the Government who are reading this - shame on you for not doing anything...", says Captain WC Tell.
In the last month, there have been several maritime accidents and incidents.
Lompar: Through the fictional captain, some circles pressure us not to check
Lompar told "Vijesta" yesterday that the Navigation Safety Inspection, performing its daily activities, "saw a lot of cases of black charter yachts and pointed out to the Tourist Inspection the need for more frequent controls in that area". "The alleged captain WC Tell does not exist in any of the records of the Port Authority of Kotor, nor has a ship commanded by a person with that name ever been punished in our area of responsibility. As far as I know, the email you are talking about was sent from an IP address in Kansas, USA, so it is difficult to talk about a skipper or a yacht captain, but rather a fictitious person through whom certain circles that do not respond to inspection activities are trying to to prevent us from doing our job," said Lompar. He invited Tell, "if there is any", to freely present publicly all the evidence he allegedly has regarding the illegal actions of the inspectors and their alleged corruption. "I have no need to justify my actions to anyone, least of all non-existent personalities. I will especially not do that until that someone submits and presents clear and solid evidence for the validity of his claims about my alleged illegal and corrupt actions. Whatever they have, feel free to publish it. Until then, I will continue to perform my duty responsibly and apply the law equally to everyone," said Lompar.
Gallery
Bonus video:
