The supervisors of the Skadar Lake National Park at least twice tried to remove the tin boat with a 130-horsepower outboard motor from the water, which, as is suspected, caused the accident four nights ago on Crnojević's Žabljak, but they claim that they did not have the help of the police.
The last time this was done was on the night of May 27, when they were told by the Regional Police Center that they had no one on duty that evening, according to the schedule, in the Boating Unit of the Police.
The news explained that the maximum permitted power of the vessel's engine on the lake is 9,9 hp, as well as that night sailing is prohibited on the lake.
"The biggest problem is that no one helps the supervisors to remove the boats of illegal power from Lake Skadar. If they did that, they would solve the problem of tragedies, smuggling and poaching", says the interlocutor of "Vijesti".
Previously, supervisors tried to catch up with the same can in mid-April, and they filmed the chase.
In the video, submitted to "Vijesti", it was recorded that the vessel is running away from them because, apparently, it is significantly faster than the one at the disposal of the Skadar lake guards.
He died in an accident on the lake on July 27 Drago Vukcevic, and seven people were injured in the collision of three vessels.
The police deprived the twenty-six-year-old of his freedom the same night Petar Dragojević, who is suspected of the criminal offense of serious offense against the safety of public traffic combined with the criminal offense of endangering public traffic.
According to "Vijesti" information, Vukčević was transporting tourists with his vessel when, at around 22.18:XNUMX p.m., three boats collided.
He died on the spot, two people were seriously injured, and five were slightly injured.
That tragedy once again drew attention to the long-standing problem of non-compliance with the law and the omissions of the authorities - the collision of the vessel occurred two months after the supervisors of NP Skadar Lake, claim sources of the newspaper, for the umpteenth time asked for help in solving the rampage in the waters of that lake, but also after numerous appeals by citizen activists who have been warning for months about serious problems related to the use of outboard motors with more than 10 horsepower.
According to the files that "Vijesti" has access to, the authorities in the NP Skadarsko jezero made two official notes about the events on the night of May 27, one of which is signed by the director of the NP Skadarsko jezero Belma Šestović, who is with the head of the security service that night Vuk Saičić, supervisors and fish keepers were on the ground.
In those acts, it was described where they were all on the field, that they noticed generators, but also that Šestović called the Regional Police Center fifteen minutes after midnight, asking for police assistance.
"After a few minutes, they call me with the explanation that there is no one on duty that evening according to the schedule. The pursuit on the water begins, and around 3.00:130 a.m. we find Crnojević in Žabljak, with a tin can and a VBM 40 HP. Colleagues Momčilo Kukuličić, Srđan Nikčević, Davor Klikovac and Miloš Boljević identify the persons and make an official note, after which they continue the patrol. The persons were found without fish and without hunting tools, but were also informed about irregularities in the safety of navigation and the use of vessels with more than XNUMX HP", the document says.
On May 29, Šestović made a file about the events at Lake Skadar, and she handed that document and the official note to the legal department of JP NPCG, which she informed about illegal activities.
Whose interest comes first
Civic and environmental activist Aleksandar Dragićević he told "Vijesti" that the employees of NP Skadarsko jezero and the civil sector appealed many times and asked to act according to the law, but that apparently the interests of individuals came first.
"And to remove all outboard motors over 10 hp from the lake. The authorities can choose according to which law they will confiscate the motors, and which motors, because there is another legal solution that can remove all motors over 40 hp. However, the authorities are not interested in solving the problem of poaching, smuggling and security in one fell swoop, and I will leave it to the public to conclude why this is so. Obviously, it is about protecting the interests of individuals, and not about respecting and enforcing the law," he said.
After the accident in Žabljak Crnojevića, the Minister of Maritime Affairs reacted Filip Radulović, who wrote on the X social network that the Government will start drafting new laws that will bring order, in order to respect the rules of navigation.
"The collision of three vessels in Žabljak Crnojevića, when one person died and several others were injured, warns us of numerous problems. We have started drafting the new Law on the Safety of Maritime Navigation and the Law on Inland Waters, which will bring order so that the rules of navigation are respected. Our intention is to provide more inspectors who will control the application of the regulations with the Rulebook on the internal organization and systematization of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs", wrote Radulović.
"Vijesti" journalist Siniša Luković reacted to Radulović's statement by reminding him in the author's text that Montenegro already has a Law on the Safety of Maritime Navigation, which in certain provisions also treats navigation on inland waterways (Skadar and Piva Lakes, i.e. the Tara River for rafting), but also that the whole country, when it comes to the safety of navigation both at sea and on inland waters, is reduced to one inspector - the long-distance navigation captain Grujica Dudić from Kotor.
What does the law regulate...
The Law on the Safety of Maritime Navigation regulates the conditions for maritime facilities, crew and vessels that sail in internal sea waters and the territorial sea of Montenegro for the safety of maritime navigation and other issues that ensure the safety of maritime navigation.
The first article stipulates that Maritime navigation is navigation that is carried out on the sea and the Bojana River up to the limit of its navigability on the sea side "including the waters of Lake Skadar and the River Crnojević".
That legal act prescribes what the employees of NP Skadar Lake and civil activists are warning about - the permitted speed on that lake is four knots, in the locations of the Rijeka Crnojevića channel, the Karatuna river channel, both branches of the Morača river that belong to that National Park, the Mihailovići area , Poseljan Bay, Biški Rep, the mouth of Rijeka Crnojevića, the mouth of Bazagurska Matica, the area around the island of Liponjak in areas where fishing is prohibited.
"On Lake Skadar, it is prohibited to sail water jet-powered vessels and the use of vessels with an engine of more than 7,35 kW, without the approval of the administrative body responsible for nature protection", is prescribed by the Law, and a fine of 1.500 to 20.000 euros will be imposed for an offense for a legal entity if it violates this provision.
Bonus video:
