The government no longer has legal means to support Crnogorska Plovidba, leading to a proposal for the company to sell its two ships to prevent their seizure in international ports, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs announced.
The ship Kotor has been detained for over 20 days in the port of Savannah and is unseaworthy due to multiple equipment failures, crew errors, and management issues.
Daily accumulating costs are threatening to exceed the ship’s value soon, and Crnogorska Plovidba lacks funds to settle outstanding debts. As a result, lawyers for the company “Moran” initiated seizure proceedings, currently preventing the ship from leaving Savannah.
If seized, the ship would likely be sold at auction for far less than owed, causing multimillion-euro losses.
The situation with Kotor also negatively affects the status of the company’s other vessel, 21. Maj, which is in poor condition.
The Ministry stated that selling the ships is a painful but the only reasonable option to recover funds, satisfy creditors, and return remaining money to the state budget.
Crnogorska Plovidba owes the state over 37 million euros, and any new financial aid would violate state aid laws.
The company’s current insolvency prevents payment of any obligations or creditors.