SDP MPs allege mismanagement at national ferry operator Jadrolinija

In the wake of the deaths of three Jadrolinija crew members in a ferry accident on Sunday, SDP MPs Ivana Marković and Mišo Krstičević alleged at a press conference on Friday that the state-run company has been mismanaged for years. 

Jadrolinija has been spending large sums of money on old and run-down vessels despite complaints from industry professionals, unions, and other experts the SDP MPs said, and placed the blame on Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Sea and Transportation Minister Oleg Butković for allowing it to happen.

Marković, who is the Mayor of Supetar on the island of Brač and a SDP MP in parliament, noted two recent cases of dilapidated ferries that had ended up causing problems.

"In the case of the Oliver ferry, experts warned it was inadequate and had many issues. Then this summer we had the Sveti Duje ferry that was floating in the channel for hours. It cost 7.7 million euros and is only certified to sail within protected and port waters, anotherwords, it should not be allowed to leave port,” said Marković.

Jadrolinija spent nearly 15 million euros on the 27-year-old Oliver ferry, purchased from Greece. Marković said islanders expected the ferries they rely on to be fast and safe.

"Jadrolina is a strategic firm for us islanders. It is too important for our lives, for tourism, to be led by incompetent and inexperienced managers,” said Marković.

Fellow SDP MP Mišo Krstičević said the ships in Jadrolinija's fleet were 30-years-old on average. He called out Jadrolinija CEO David Sopta.

"During Sopta's time as CEO, not a single new vessel was added that could have been built at one of our shipyards or purchased abroad. Our fleet is old and we have fewer workers, so of course, safety is compromised,” said Krstičević.

They are blaming the government.

"A prime minister who didn't feel the need to say anything on this issue for four days, sure looks like someone who only cares about how this looks for his government and his comments yesterday clearly show that he doesn't care about the people,” said Marković.

Plenković was asked on Thursday why he or Minister Butković did not go to Mali Lošinj in the aftermath of the accident. He said he did not think their presence would have contributed to the efforts of other services on the ground already.

Although he said he would not comment on who should be held responsible for the ferry accident, President Zoran Milanović said today Croatia needed ships that are built in Croatian shipyards.

"The fact is that the last four Croatian-built ferries for Jadrolinija were made more than 10 years ago by Uljanik, one of our shipyards that did not manage to survive. We need our own ships that are built in our own shipyards," said Milanović.