As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, as mentioned above, the last in a series of public debates, especially in the circles of Croatian shipowners and shipbuilders, about Jadrolinija’s policy to modernise its fleet with used ships instead of building new ones, still hasn’t gone away.
A public procurement of a Ro-Ro passenger ship with an open deck for transporting vehicles, up to 50 metres long and 17 metres wide, with a capacity for transporting at least 200 passengers and 35 cars, and not older than 20 years was recently announced by the Croatian Jadrolinija ferry company. This is a smaller ship for which Jadrolinija has pointed out an estimated value of 5.7 million kuna, and they will collect bids until May the 7th, 2021.
In addition to the best price for the final decision, of course, if there are more offers, the points that the age of the ship will bring are also important, more points is equal to a smaller number of years.
The tender documentation only shows that the delivery will be carried out within a maximum of 60 days from the conclusion of the sales contract, and on which line the ship is currently planned to be sailed, the Croatian Jadrolinija shipping enterprise otherwise hasn’t provided any details or answered any questions as to whether it will supplement the fleet with this ”new” vessel or if it will replace some of the smaller smaller ships that will then retire.
With their latest fleet “reinforcement”, the Losinj ferry, which was bought in Russia at the end of last year and refurbished in Kraljevica, and was built in 2010, the national shipping fleet has been rejuvenated and its average age currently stands at approximately 28.5 years.
The most important step expected in the further renewal of the Croatian Jadrolinija’s fleet is the replacement of the legendary ferry Lastovo, the oldest in the fleet, for which a project was prepared and construction is expected, and local shipyards they hoped to get the job.
However, according to the latest information, for the successor of Lastovo, which is significantly larger than the vessel for which a tender has since been announced, the search will be organised on the used boat market.
The position of the company’s management hasn’t deviated from its initial opinion even after all criticism that the design and construction process takes a long time, at least three years, and that the market can find quality and tested ships that meet the ever higher environmental standards set at European Union (EU) level.
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