21/07/2025, 10:27 ‘Only move left’: European bulker owner puts fleet up for sale after state pulls
for sale after state pulls funding plug
Bulkers
‘Only move left’: European bulker owner
puts fleet up for sale after state pulls funding
plug
Montenegrin state company will offload Chinese-built handysizes due to
debts
Crnogorska Plovidba owns two handysize bulkers. (Photo: Crnogorska Plovidba)
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21/07/2025, 10:27 ‘Only move left’: European bulker owner puts fleet up for sale after state pulls funding plug
Gary Dixon
TradeWinds correspondent | London
Published 17 July 2025, 17:00
The government of Montenegro is selling off the bulker fleet of state-owned
shipping company Crnogorska Plovidba due to debts.
The company has been unable to pay off Chinese loans on its two handysizes and
has been relying on state help.
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BNE IntelliNews cited public broadcaster RTCG as saying that the government
has now decided to sell the 35,000-dwt Kotor and Dvadesetprvi Maj (both built
2012).
The decision has been made to no longer offer financial support to Crnogorska as
it is "not viable", the report said.
Transport & maritime minister Filip Radulovic was cited as saying the
government had no other option.
“The laws are such that there is no more help from the state; it can neither give a
loan nor pump money directly into that company," he said.
"And that is why we decided at the government’s session to put these two ships
for sale.
"It is not just logical, it is the only move left."
The Kotor was en route from the US to the UK on Thursday, while the sister ship
was moored in South Korea.
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21/07/2025, 10:27 ‘Only move left’: European bulker owner puts fleet up for sale after state pulls funding plug
VesselsValue assesses the vessels as worth around $11m each.
Crnogorska logged a net loss €779,000 ($894,000) last year, against a profit of
€165,000 in 2023.
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In May, the government permitted the owner to take out a new loan to stave off
bankruptcy.
This was intended to refinance its outstanding €400,000 debt to Prva Banka
P
through a new deal with the lender after the bank blocked the company’s account
over the unpaid money.
The new loan matures over 36 months and features a grace period of three
months before repayments start.
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21/07/2025, 10:27 ‘Only move left’: European bulker owner puts fleet up for sale after state pulls funding plug
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The lender had been ready to enforce collection, which would have entailed
bankruptcy proceedings, the government had said earlier.
The shipowner also owes €36.2m to the state.
The government has said Crnogorska had been unable to service operating costs,
such as wages and insurance, due to the account block.
In April, the government decided to lease the two bulkers to compatriot Barska
Plovidba and secure fresh cash to repay the shipping company’s debt.
Barska Plovidba was to pay up to €1m in advance for the ships to secure liquidity
for Crnogorska. The ships were to be leased until September.
Government repays loan
In January, the government repaid the latest loan instalments owed by the two
companies to the Export-Import Bank of China under a 2010 loan for four bulker
newbuildings.
Barska, also known as Montenegro Lines, took out a state-guaranteed $46.4m
loan from China Exim Bank in 2012 to buy two 35,000-dwt handysizes delivered
in 2014 from CSC Jinling Shipyard.
Crnogorska banked €47.4m in 2010 to buy its two ships.
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21/07/2025, 10:27 ‘Only move left’: European bulker owner puts fleet up for sale after state pulls funding plug
The company is fully owned by the Montenegrin government, which also controls
more than 50% of Barska Plovidba through state agencies and funds.
Crnogorska previously blamed a decline in revenue for its inability to pay debts.
Its Chinese financing came with a 15-year maturity, a five-year grace period and a
fixed interest rate of 3%.
Crnogorska was formed in 2012 with $20m of investment from domestic and
Norwegian banks.
(Copyright)
Published 17 July 2025, 17:00 Updated 17 July 2025, 19:12
Crnogorska Plovidba Sale and purchase Handysize bulkers
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