May 27 (SeeNews) - Montenegro and Italy will launch a ferry line linking the Montenegrin city of Bar with Ancona, one of the main ports on the Adriatic Sea, on July 3, Montenegrin prime minister Milojko Spajic said.
Montenegrin state-controlled maritime transport company Barska Plovidba together with its Italian partners will operate the ferry line, which will boost Montenegro's connections with Western Europe, shortening the distance between the two countries, Spajic said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, over the weekend.
The new line will also help ease traffic on Montenegro's western border crossings towards Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spajic noted.
In March, the government in Podgorica said that Italian ferry operator Adria Ferries is considering launching the Ancona-Bar ferry line, which would reduce to ten hours travel time for citizens travelling from the north of Italy to Bar, by the end of the year.
News provider eKapija reported over the weekend that under the plan, the ferry line will be operated by Adria Ferries throughout the year, while Barska Plovidba plans to secure its own vessel that will also service the line.