Ferry propellers dug a hole in the waterfront? Damage to the operational quay in the Port of Bar

The part of the operational quay at Pier V of the Port of Bar, which is intended for the reception of ferries and ro-ro ships, has suffered major damage, which is why the Port Authority of Bar announced yesterday that, if it does not receive guarantees from the authorities that the operational quay is structurally intact, it will prohibit the berthing and docking of ferries in that part of the port.

This location is also used for loading and unloading of vehicles and passengers by the ferry "Dalmacija" of the Croatian company Jadrolinija, which operates the seasonal line Bar - Bari, and the large ferry "AS Mia" of the Italian company "Adria Ferries" which sails on the seasonal line Ancona - Bar - Durres.

On the operational shore, right next to the coastline behind the bollards to which ships are tied, two huge holes opened and the ground beneath that part of the waterfront partially collapsed. As a source close to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs told "Vijesti", the Port Authority of Bar officially reported this to the department headed by the Minister yesterday. Filip Radulović (PES) stating that the inspection is ongoing and that the inspector's findings are awaited as to how the damage occurred and the current condition of the operational quay in this area near Pier V at the passenger terminal of the Port of Bar.

The Port Authority warned the Ministry of Maritime Affairs that, since this is obviously "serious damage", until all relevant facts are established about what actually happened and what the consequences are for the structural integrity of this part of the Bar Port coast, and until firm guarantees are obtained from the operator - the Port of Bar, the inspection and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs itself that the coast at Pier V is in the necessary condition to safely carry out port operations related to servicing ferries and ro-ro ships, the Port Authority will not allow further docking of ferries at this location.

If the situation is not resolved quickly, this could have major consequences, namely causing a temporary interruption of seasonal shipping lines to Italy and Albania from Bar, the functioning of which the Ministry of Maritime Affairs pays great attention to during the summer months.

A well-informed source for "Vijesti" said that for more than 30 years, the condition of the operational quay at the Port of Bar passenger terminal has not been adequately controlled, nor has the condition of the piles that "hold" and support this part of the quay, or the durability of the mooring bollards on the waterfront, been monitored.

"Despite all this and the fact that the sea depth in this place is insufficient for the safe mooring of a ship the size of the ferry "AF Mia", last year, under great pressure from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, an improvised solution was found so that this over 200-meter-long ship with a draft of 6,8 meters can be moored and docked in this part of the Port of Bar in a so-called four-berth parallel to Gatov V. In doing so, the ship, having previously dropped both anchors on the bow, approaches the shore with its stern and when its stern approaches six meters from the shore that continues towards the secondary breakwater, it lowers its stern ramp for loading and unloading cars. This means that the ferry's propellers are much closer to the shore than would be the case if the "AF Mia" could dock here with its bow, and the operation of the propellers and the huge water currents they create obviously have a very destructive effect on the surface on which this part of the operational coast of the Port of Bar rests, so these holes most likely "opened" because the ferry "undermined" the surface of the waterfront," said the interlocutor “News”.

By the time of writing, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs had not responded to the questions our newspaper had sent them regarding this accident, its causes, and the consequences it could have on the regular operation of ferry traffic from the Port of Bar in the coming period.

Incompetent party apparatchiks

The incompetent administration of the party apparatchiks, who have taken over the “Port of Bar”, seems to have set out very intensively to free Bar from the port infrastructure, just as they are “liberating” Montenegro from all pillars of national interest day by day. A year after the catastrophic events when mobile cranes in the “Port of Bar” fell and were damaged due to negligent management, we are witnessing a new incident in the port infrastructure where a large hole opened on pier V.

This was announced by a councilor of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) in the Bar local assembly, Emir Peričić, after part of a concrete structure collapsed yesterday at Pier V, where ferries carrying passengers and vehicles to Bari and Ancona dock.

"In the midst of the tourist season, when cruise ships enter the 'Port of Bar' almost weekly, a large hole has opened up on Pier V, exactly where these ships dock. This is just the last straw and an indicator of the ignorance and carelessness of the people who manage the Port of Bar system, after the previous million-dollar accident, but also the continuous threat to human lives from heavy metal poisoning," Peričić said.

What arises as a question, in his words, is what needs to happen for the executive director and the Board of Directors of the "Port of Bar" to feel human, moral, political responsibility or the most important one - responsibility for the fate of the largest Montenegrin port and the fate of hundreds of employees in it, and resign from responsible positions because they are not capable of responding to the task.

"I must emphasize that I have no expectations that they will act responsibly at least once, because following the example of their party colleagues who did not resign due to the loss of dozens of lives, but rather threaten anyone who speaks out publicly about it, they certainly will not either due to the damage done to the Port of Bar. There remains hope that at least the Government will look into what is happening in the Port and dismiss this management, before the Port suffers the fate of Barska plovidba," said the DPS councilor.

When they previously pointed out the actions and work at "Luka Bar", he underlined, it was characterized as politicking and malice. Unfortunately, Peričić assesses, the events of the past year confirm that they were right.

"The Port of Bar is managed by people who have neither the knowledge nor the capacity to run the largest Montenegrin port, the only thing they have is an insatiable desire for armchairs and self-promotion," he concluded.

Port of Bar: It has been determined that several blocks have been broken out of the operational quay wall

The Port of Bar announced today that on July 30, at around 23 p.m., Border Police officers on duty at the Passenger Terminal noticed damage, i.e. the appearance of an opening on the manipulative surface in the hinterland of berth 54 at the Passenger Terminal - in the direct hinterland of the position where the ferry "Mia" was moored, owned by the Italian company "Adria Ferries", which has been operating the Ancona - Bar - Durres maritime line since last year during the summer months.

"An on-site inspection by experts from 'Luka Bar' AD found damage to the handling surface and the appearance of two openings filled with seawater, the approximate dimensions of which are approximately 15 x 15 m," the Port of Bar announced.

They add that they quickly hired a diver who surveyed the condition of the coastal wall of Berth 54, in order to determine the location of the damage, its nature and extent.

"Based on the underwater camera footage, it was determined that several blocks were knocked out of the operational shore wall, between bollards 3 and 4, on the part of the shore where the ferry 'Mia' was moored. According to the determined situation, it obviously follows that the disruption of the stability of the blocks was caused by the "under-locking" of the shore wall by the work of the propellers of the ferry 'Mia' during the docking/departure maneuver and during the ship's stay along the operational shore according to the mooring method shown in the attached picture. The method of mooring the ship in question, with minimum safety distances, was agreed upon in May 2024, in coordination with the Maritime Safety and Port Management Administration, the Port Authority of Bar, AD 'Barska plovidba', representatives of companies engaged in pilotage in the area of the Port of Bar and 'Luka Bar' AD, and the mooring model was also agreed upon by the representative of the Shipowner. Representatives of the Border Police and the Customs Administration were also involved in the process of defining the overall actions related to the acceptance of the ship. It is likely that during the past period there were and multiple cases where the stern of the ship 'Mia' was closer to the shore wall than the defined minimum distance from the operational shore line, which intensified the 'underpinning' of the shore wall and eventually led to damage. The ferry 'Mia' did not use tugboats during mooring/unmooring," it was announced.

They state that the Navigation Safety Inspectors from the Port Authority of Bar carried out an inspection on July 31st, and that the Port Authority, in accordance with the powers prescribed by law, will make a decision on the usability of the berth in question, in accordance with navigation safety requirements.

"By the way, the operational quay at the Passenger Terminal was built in the 50s, as a gravity wall - the attached image shows a cross-section of the operational quay. After the repair of damage caused by the catastrophic earthquake of April 15, 1979, the Use Permit No. 06-557/2-82 for the operational quay at the Passenger Terminal was issued on February 10, 1983 by the Committee for Urban Planning, Construction and Housing and Communal Affairs," the statement reads.