Liberalization of Croatian passenger shipping lines is coming.
Starting from 1 January 2017, passenger shipping market in Croatia will be liberalized. All current concessionaires’ contracts for concessions for regular domestic services are expiring and competition from foreign shipping companies will be possible, reports Jutarnji List on September 12, 2016.
The companies will be eligible to apply under their national flags, but the crews will have to speak Croatian. There are interested companies from Greece, Italia and Scandinavian countries, said Ivan Franičević Aga, director of the Agency for Coastal Passenger Shipping Transport.
Jadrolinija does not intend to allow other companies to take over the lines which it has covered for many decades, and it intends to keep its leading position on the Adriatic Sea. It recently announced the construction of a ship for more remote islands like Korčula, Vis and Lastovo worth 50 million euros. The preparation of the project documentation has been entrusted to the Polish company Remontowo. They explain that concessions, that typically last for five or six years, will be extended up to ten or more years in the event that a shipping company applies to a tender with a new ship built specially for the line.
The principle that one shipping company holds each particular service will be continued, and Jadrolinija has already announced the purchase of a total of 26 ships by 2027, of which 23 will be completely new ships. The renewal of the fleet started in 2005, and so far the fleet has been modernized with 18 vessels, including 12 new ships.
The state-owned Jadrolinija shipping company is not the only concessionaire for passenger services. There are a number of smaller, private companies which often complain about the privileged status of the large state-owned company, but also about other issues such as Jadrolinija’s dumping prices. Some of private companies have almost gone bankrupt. They also point out that the state shipping company is in a privileged position in public tenders.
