The Municipal Board (OO) of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Kotor announced today that the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić, is trying to shut down shipping in Kotor.
"The Government's decision, made at the proposal of the Minister of Maritime Affairs Filip Radulović, represents an alarming plan to shut down Crnogorska plovidba, a company with a rich maritime tradition and the successor to the famous Jugooceanija. This decision causes deep concern and raises serious questions about the future of maritime affairs in Kotor and Montenegro," the DPS Kotor statement said.
They added that the shutdown plan is planned in two phases - the first phase, leasing the ships of Crnogorska plovidba to Barska plovidba and the second phase, transferring ownership of the ships and shutting down Crnogorska plovidba.
"This plan represents a direct attack on the maritime tradition of Kotor, which has lasted for more than 12 centuries and clearly threatens the city's identity as a maritime center, not only in Montenegro but also in the region. The circumstances and suspicious decisions are questionable, because after the debt to the Chinese Exim Bank was repaid at the end of January, two ships of Crnogorska plovidba generated income of around 1.100.000,00 euros from the lease. Therefore, the question arises as to how it is possible that there were not enough funds to repay the debt to Prva Banka of 400.000,00 euros. We suspect that the debt to Prva Banka was used as an excuse to begin the implementation of the plan to shut down Crnogorska plovidba," said the representatives of the DPS Kotor.
They said that "the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, led by Minister Radulović and Prime Minister Spajić, is responsible for the poor management of the maritime company, not only in terms of personnel, but also in decisions similar to this one about 'rescuing' the company."
"We would like to note that less than a year ago, the same Prime Minister Spajić in Kotor promised new investments in Crnogorska plovidba by purchasing a new ship and taking over the Kamenari-Lepetane ferry line, but those promises were made in the heat of the local election campaign," said DPS Kotor.
They demand an immediate response and seek a transparent explanation from the Government about the reasons for this decision.
"We call for a review of the plan to shut down Crnogorska plovidba and the engagement of maritime experts to overcome the crisis. We appeal to the public to support the preservation of the maritime tradition of Kotor and Montenegro. We also appeal to the current management of Crnogorska plovidba not to allow the closure of the maritime company from Kotor or its 'rescue' by relocation, i.e. merging with Barska plovidba. We call on all parties from the local parliament (unfortunately illegitimate, but the only one at the moment) to hold a thematic session on the topic of preserving this company by taking a common stance and reacting to the unfortunate Government of Montenegro. The closure of Crnogorska plovidba would represent an irreparable loss for the maritime community and the entire country," said the DPS Kotor.
Radulović said at a press conference on April 11 that the Government plans to save the company Crnogorska plovidba from insolvency by leasing its two ships to Barska plovidba, which will pay up to one million euros in advance.
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