Although the state acquired new fast boats almost three years ago for the needs of the Navigation Safety Inspection and the so-called Port State Control (PSC) inspection, which controls foreign ships in Montenegrin waters, these vessels have not been put into use until today.
During this time, the inspectors go to sea in the vessels of the port authorities of Kotor and Bar, that is, the Administration of Maritime Safety and Port Management (UPSUL), which themselves, especially in the summer, have too much of their own work and limited resources to, in addition to all that, also provide technical services of driving inspectors by sea.
From the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs (MSP), which is at the head of the system in which the harbor masters and UPSUL and the Navigation Safety Inspection and the Port State Control Inspection are, "News" did not give a precise answer to the question of what is the cause of the fact that expensively paid fast vessels - patrol boats have not yet been put into operational use for inspections at sea and why those boats are still failing stored in the Bar.
The boats were procured through the IPA project and were mostly financed by the European Union.
MSP told "Vijesta" that the then Administration for Capital Projects, within the framework of the annual action program IPA 2017, "on November 30, 2021 concluded a contract for the procurement of equipment with the contractor "Excelor Holding Group" from Bulgaria and the EU Delegation in Montenegro. to the amount of 941.474 euros".
"The beneficiary of the project was the then Ministry of Capital Investments, while the final beneficiary was the Directorate of Maritime Safety and Port Management. In June 2023, the authorized representatives of the Administration for Capital Projects, UPSUL and the Directorate for Maritime Traffic and Inland Navigation stated in the minutes that the boats were handed over to the user - the Directorate for Maritime Traffic and Inland Navigation", stated the Ministry of the Interior, without answering why the boats have not yet been put into operational use and why the navigation safety inspectors, i.e. PSC inspectors are not present with them on a daily basis at sea.
"The ministry has raised the issue of the use of those boats and in the coming period a decision will be made on their use", announced the department headed by the minister. Filip Radulović (PES).
"Vijesti" has unofficially learned that all the inspectors who are employed in the Montenegrin maritime administration system already in March of this year underwent training and received official certificates of competence for the use of two fast RHIB boats of the "Tempest 900 Work" type, made by the Italian manufacturer Cantieri Capelli .
These are vessels nine meters long, three meters wide and weighing 1.800 kilograms, powered by two Honda outboard engines with a power of 225 horses each, which reach a speed of over 35 knots. Along with the boats, two trailers for them and complete equipment necessary for these boats to perform the function of vessels for Flag State Control (Inspection of Navigation Safety) and PSC inspection, as well as to act as fast rescue and emergency vessels if necessary response in case of sea pollution in coastal waters.
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