The Jadrolinija supervisory board, at today’s meeting in Zagreb lead by the State Secretary for the Sea Branko Bačić, supported the decision to build two new ferries in Croatian shipyards. This would present a continuation of the 2nd phase for the reconstruction of the Jadrolinija passenger fleet.
It is the intention to construct two ferries with a capacity for 130 vehicles and 1200 passengers similar to the ferry ‘Marjan’, which represents one of the largest domestic ferries ever built for Jadrolinija. Still, the new ferries are expected to be more modern regarding speed and strength as compared to the ‘Marjan’ ferry.
The Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development and the Ministry of the Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship are preparing models for financing these two ferries. That model will be presented to the RH Government for further financial arrangements.
Slavko Lončar, board president, informed the rest of the supervisory board about the current strike situation. He confirmed that no interruption of transport occurred during the last days.
Bačić added that Minister Božidar Kalmeta would organize a meeting, the following day, with representatives of the Seafarers’ Trade Union in order to clarify misunderstandings related to the Liner Shipping Carriage Act and Seasonal Coastal Trade Act. Lončar also presented business results achieved in 2005. During the past year, Jadrolinija registered the transport of 8.518.815 passengers (plus by 4.7% over 2004) and 2.211.873 vehicles (plus by 2.7% over 2004).