Barska Plovidba loses Bar-Bari route – Croatia's Jadrolinija to sail directly to Italy from May 19

The Montenegrin state company Barska Plovidba is to cede the direct route to Italy to its neighbors after 52 years. The agreement on cooperation was signed with Croatia's Jadrolinija in Rijeka, enabling the re-establishment of the sea route Bar-Bari, beginning with May 19, Milo Paunovic, Director Executive of the Bar-based company said.

It was agreed for Jadrolinija to sail the route only during the summer, when the profit is the biggest. The Croatian boat will travel between the coasts of Montenegro and Italy for several months starting with May, which is good for Montenegrin businessmen, who had to import the goods through Albania, and bad for Montenegrin seamen, as it puts them out of work.

For five months in a row, Montenegro has been cut off from the world when it comes to sea routes, as the ferryboat of Barska Plovidba “Sveti Stefan 2” lost its class designation on December 3, 2016. Barska Plovidba has failed to purchase a passenger boat to replace “Sveti Stefan 2” on the sole regular sea route between Montenegro and Italy.

– The insurance company Biro Veritas notified Barska Plovidba in the first half of September that “Sveti Stefan 2” had lost its class designation. The company's management even tried to hide it for a while – minority shareholders say.

– Not only have they not been capable of purchasing a boat to replace “Sveti Stefan 2”, which was first announced ten years ago, but they can't even sell the ferryboat, which has been tied in the Port of Bar since early December, causing the Bar company's expenditures to pile up. Each day of the boat's presence in the Port of Bar means less money in Barska Plovidba's funds. The estimate is that the damage done exceeds EUR 100,000.

Barska plovidba a.d. Bar

Jadrolinija Rijeka

Bureau Veritas Croatia d.o.o. Rijeka

Luka Bar a.d. Crna Gora

Barska Plovidba

Jadrolinija

Biro Veritas

Port of Bar

Bar Bari route

Milo Paunovic

ferryboat Sveti Stefan 2

ferryboat

Sveti Stefan 2

cargo boat

cargo boat Bar