Croatia’s Jadrolinija recently purchased two Ro-Ro ships built in nearby Greece, without specifying their age. 5.18 million euros excluding VAT was paid for the two old vessels.
As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of December, 2019, one month ago, Minister of the Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, announced that the state shipping company Jadrolinija was embarking on the reconstruction of its fleet, and that it should turn to the procurement of new rather than just going for more used ships.
The fleet, currently numbering 51 ships, has an average age of 28. The planned procurement of new vessels, which should be an opportunity for Croatian shipbuilders, is expected to include eleven ships over the next three years, but in the meantime Jadrolinija has purchased two new passenger and cargo ships, which are second-hand.
One of the vessels, according to a brief announcement on the procurement notice, was purchased for 2.95 million euros excluding VAT and the other was purchased for 2.23 million euros, both from Aquamarine Developments, headquartered in the Marshall Islands.
The vessels were bought without tendering through a negotiated procedure, and according to Jadrolinija’s clarification to the EOJN, the models were selected because of the specificity of the purchase and because “used ships are a commodity on the stock exchange, that is, there is a simplified market for buyers, sellers and brokers according to the previously prescribed standards,”
But when it comes to the question of just how old these ships are, there was no precise answer from Jadrolinija. “They are two used Ro-Ro passenger ships built in Greece that have the capacity of a garage and lounge, and at full speed, they fully meet the needs of Jadrolinija,” replied Jadrolinija briefly.
One of the vessels is 102 metres long and 18 metres wide, it accommodates 500 passengers and 107 cars, while the other is 98 metres long and 16 metres wide, accommodating 500 passengers and 140 cars.
“At this moment in time, we cannot determine with certainty where they will sail because the concession contracts define the ships for each individual line. However, with their maritime capabilities, these ships are suitable in most ports along the Adriatic coast,” they say from Jadrolinija, adding that they will, with their introduction into the fleet, respond to the demands of local communities to increase the quality of service and traffic flow in the coming season.
As for new ship purchases, it is said that a tender for the construction of two ships is planned for 2020. No details have been made public yet, but it is likely that one of them will be a project whose creation saw the project company Classis from Split engaged a year ago, which envisages the construction of a ferry for the most demanding lines – from Split to Stari Grad on Hvar, Vis and Vela Luka on Korčula and Ublija on Lastovo.
That ship should be 110 metres long and 18 metres wide, accommodating at least 900 passengers and 200 trucks and passenger cars.
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