The management team of Crnogorska plovidba (CP) from Kotor is furious about the actions taken by the management of Barska plovidba (BP) concerning the recent incident involving the ship “Kotor,” which was temporarily halted at the American port of Savannah by the US Coast Guard. This occurred due to minor technical defects identified during an “in-depth” inspection by Coast Guard officials.

A source from CP told “Vijesti” that the condition of the “Kotor” is not catastrophic. They confirmed that an inspection at the end of May indicated the ship was in good shape. It was only during an unusual request from the inspector that a malfunction in the electronic board occurred, which has since been replaced, and the Coast Guard in Savannah approved the loading of cargo. The source also mentioned that the negative narrative regarding the “Kotor” came about after the crew reached out to the International Seafarers’ Union regarding delayed wages.

The Kotor-based company’s management is also highly dissatisfied with the actions of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, which, two months ago, compelled CP to enter into a controversial agreement with Barska. This arrangement stripped CP of its autonomy in ship management and imposed disproportionately high fees for “consultations” that Barska was to provide, as well as the obligation to operate its ships on the market under Barska’s directives. Meanwhile, Barska has disseminated claims in various Montenegrin media about the so-called catastrophic technical state and negligence of CP ships “Kotor” and “Dvadesetprvi maj,” as well as the alleged irresponsibility of CP management.

Maritime Affairs Minister Filip Radulović announced in a press conference on Thursday that he intends to dismiss the current Board of Directors of CP on Monday “due to a series of irregularities over a lengthy period, as well as the filing of criminal charges against unidentified persons related to defects on the ship Kotor, which was detained in the USA.”

The US Coast Guard acts as the Port State Control authority and is stringent in its inspections of foreign vessels at US ports concerning their technical condition, seaworthiness, and adherence to safety and environmental standards. The CP ship “Kotor” docked in Savannah on June 14 to load cargo for its new charterer—Trithorn Bulk—under a daily rent of $8,450, arranged through Barska. In recent days, Barska has shared numerous claims in the media regarding the ship’s alleged “catastrophic condition,” stating it has faced multiple outages of electricity and water, hydraulic issues, and a malfunctioning main engine.

Did the campaign start after the ITF contact?

A Georgian helmsman aboard the “Kotor” in the US reached out to the International Transport Workers’ Union (ITF) to complain about unpaid crew wages. Following this, Boris Mihailović, the director of Barska, told the media that the “Kotor,” being detained by the Coast Guard in the USA, “paid” for years of neglect and lack of maintenance.

“There are broader issues with the ship ‘Kotor,’ and I suspect the crew’s inadequacy is contributing to accumulating costs and losses,” stated Mihailović.

According to reports from various Montenegrin media, the “Kotor” was detained by the US Coast Guard in Savannah on June 14, coinciding with its arrival from Jacksonville, another US port. It’s noteworthy that if the ship were indeed in the alleged poor condition claimed by Barska’s management and the Maritime Affairs Ministry, it would not have avoided detainment in Jacksonville, where Coast Guard inspections are also carried out. Furthermore, the “Kotor” had been in American ports in October and December of last year without any issues or detentions, as previous inspections had no recorded problems with the engine complex.

Delays in Loan Approval by the Ministry

“The situation escalated recently when CP’s account was blocked at the request of Prva Banka due to the non-renewal of our longstanding overdraft agreement. The delay in renewing this contract was caused by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs not responding to CP’s management requests for approval to extend the loan—a legal requirement for state-owned entities like CP. This led to difficulties in paying salaries, resulting in ITF complications and inadequate maintenance of ships, including delaying spare parts, oil, and lubricants. Only after this issue developed did the Ministry decide to ‘rescue’ CP by transferring our ships to ‘Barska’ through a dubious business-technical cooperation contract they insisted on,” explained an insider from CP to “Vijesti.” They highlighted that analyses requested by the Ministry indicated that CP had better performance than BP over the last four years. Furthermore, CP completed loan repayments for its ships to the Chinese bank that financed their construction, whereas BP is scheduled to repay its two ships until 2034.

“This indicates that the Ministry’s objective was not to ‘save’ CP but rather to assist BP in easing the repayment of remaining loans to the Chinese Exim Bank. The intent was clearly to minimize the state’s involvement as a loan guarantor. By looking to improve BP’s financial state, the objective was to transfer CP’s ships to ‘Barska’ while requiring CP to forfeit 9% of its revenues. They had to fabricate a justification for this, which turned out to be the overdraft loan from Prva Banka. This loan had previously been renewed smoothly with relevant ministry approval, but this year it took three months, resulting in a long-term blockage of our accounts, significantly impacting CP,” the source continued.

Ship’s Condition Rated as “Very Solid” in December

Refuting claims made by Radulović and Mihailović regarding the purported catastrophic state of the CP vessels, the source provided reports from a survey of the “Kotor” conducted by the “Rightship” agency in December of last year. This evaluation rated the ship’s technical condition as “very solid,” scoring it a 3. During the end of May—when the Ministry and BP asserted CP ships were “on the verge of collapse”—the “Kotor,” having just been handed over for time charter to a new charterer (brought in through Barska)—Trithorn Bulk—was also assessed by the “Inchcape Marine Survey & Inspection” agency.

This agency inspected the hull, deck, masts, and other components of the “Kotor” and concluded that all were in good or satisfactory condition, and highlighted that the ship was well-maintained, as evidenced by a report with numerous photographs documenting the inspections. The inspections also confirmed that all electrical, hydraulic, fuel, and lubrication systems, along with fire safety installations, were all in good working order, showing no leaks. The final conclusion of the surveyor was that the “Kotor” met all prerequisites for safe commercial operations and bulk cargo transport. This inspection occurred on May 31st in Barranquilla, Colombia, with Barska’s management labeling it “in a catastrophic state” just 14 days later, leading to its detention by the Coast Guard in Savannah.

Coast Guard Findings Did Not Result in Ship Detention

However, “Vijesti” has learned that during the “in-depth” inspection of the “Kotor,” the US Coast Guard identified only minor deficiencies that are easily correctable, commonly found among numerous other merchant vessels, and these were not the reasons for the ship’s detention at the port.

The detention was due to a malfunction that arose during an unusual procedure mandated by an inspector from “Bureau Veritas.” Although the class inspector initially confirmed everything was in order, a different inspector requested the chief engineer to create a genuine “black out”—the ship left without power—rather than simulating one, which caused a damaging shock to the systems. The main electronic control panel was destroyed as a result. The ship was thus unable to depart from Savannah while awaiting replacement parts, rather than due to serious technical defects as claimed by the Coast Guard inspection,” the source explained to “Vijesti.” They pointed out that the Coast Guard allowed the “Kotor” to dock and conduct cargo loading operations, which would not happen if the ship were in a dangerous condition as claimed by Barska and the Maritime Affairs Minister.

“The crew has electricity, hydraulic systems, air conditioning, and all necessary provisions for normal onboard living. Electrical outages happened only during the intentional ‘black out’ initiated by the BV inspector. A new electronic control panel has since arrived and been installed; we are now waiting for the BV register inspector to approve it officially,” they added.

Will Someone in the Ministry Take Responsibility for CP?

“The series of events—from the ITF call to the Coast Guard inspection revealing minor issues, to the peculiar actions of the class inspector causing a breakdown on the control panel—resulted in unnecessary expenses for the company. However, the narrative that the Kotor is severely defective is unfounded and was clearly disseminated to rationalize the Ministry of Maritime Affairs’ recent actions. Due to their treatment of CP, there need to be legal consequences for someone within Minister Radulović’s department,” emphasized the interlocutor of “Vijesti.”

They pointed out that if claims of catastrophic conditions for the “Kotor” and “Dvadesetprvi Maj” were valid, someone within the Technical Inspectorate of the Maritime Safety and Port Management Authority, responsible for these ships and conducting so-called Flag State Control, should also be held accountable. This inspection is conducted at least once annually.

This implies that someone from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs is to blame, as UPSUL’s Technical Inspectorate operates under the administrative oversight of the Maritime Affairs Ministry,” the interlocutor stated.

“Barska” Charged 18 Thousand Euros for Eight Hours

The source claimed that following the signing of the contentious business and technical cooperation agreement between CP and BP, “Barska” took over complete control of CP’s vessels and dispatched an inspector to evaluate their technical condition.

“They engaged a person lacking sufficient experience and knowledge while charging CP a fee of 36,000 euros. This inspector evaluated only one of our ships over just eight hours—a time frame far too brief for a comprehensive analysis, which typically requires at least 10 days. Nevertheless, for this eight-hour task, he billed 18,000 euros,” the source highlighted.

They also shared a letter sent by the CP Board of Directors to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs on June 6, demanding clarification regarding the regulatory basis for the Board’s exemption from routine decision-making procedures regarding company operations.

The Ministry has not responded to this request, even though CP’s Board of Directors informed them that numerous decisions and actions within the Board’s purview had been made since the commencement of the controversial contract with “Barska,” effectively stripping the Board of its rightful powers as established under the Law on Business Companies and the Statute of AD Crnogorska plovidba.

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