Jadrolinija has big plans for the future.
Croatia’s largest passenger shipping company Jadrolinija celebrates its 70th anniversary, and in this jubilee year, it continues with positive trends. In the first 11 months of this year, it has transported 11.8 million passengers and 2.9 million cars, which is about seven percent more than in the same period last year, reports tportal.hr on December 5, 2017.
According to data presented by Jadrolinija’s CEO David Sopta, 200,000 passengers and 46,000 vehicles were transported on international services, while 11,6 million passengers and 2.8 million vehicles were transported within Croatia. By the end of the year, it is expected that the number of passengers will reach over 12 million.
Jadrolinija currently has a fleet of 50 ships, with a total capacity of 27,495 passengers and 3,824 vehicles. There are three ferries for international lines, 34 ferries for local routes, nine high-speed boats and four classic ships.
The shipping company, which is headquartered in Rijeka, maintains 34 domestic and four international lines and transports as much as 80 percent of passengers and vehicles on the Croatian part of the Adriatic. It employs 1,700 workers, of whom 75 percent are sailors. During summer months, ships execute more than 600 trips a day, and during the winter they continue providing a service for the island population and connecting them with the mainland.
Sopta said that Jadrolinija was the leader in the Croatian and Mediterranean markets and had the preconditions to maintain its position. “We expect a fleet renewal since we want to modernise the company, improve services and support the island economies and tourism,” he said. According to Sopta, the fleet renewal plan will be presented early next year. He announced they would first buy new fast catamarans, passenger ships and ferries for outer islands, adding that the company should continue to invest in international lines as well.
Importantly, the company plans to renew the once popular long-distance coastal line. “We want to adapt this service to new trends, design a cost-effective model and find and buy an appropriate ship,” he said.
He added that sailors were the most significant asset of Jadrolinija, pointing out that they were thinking about establishing a special internal company school which would enable more experienced sailors to transfer their knowledge to their younger colleagues.
Jadrolinija will celebrate its 70th anniversary at the Marco Polo ship in the Rijeka harbour this evening, as part of the three-day programme of the First Croatian Maritime and Inland Navigation Days. The event started today with a contest of ship cooks in preparing meals for seafarers in boat kitchens and with a signing of scholarship contracts for the Maritime Faculty in Rijeka. Tomorrow, a conference on maritime affairs and inland navigation will be held, where the vision of the development of Croatian naval transportation industry will be presented.
Translated from tportal.hr.
