PODGORICA (Montenegro), May 23 (SeeNews) – Montenegrin state-controlled sea transport operator Barska Plovidba said it plans to start talks with Chinese partners for the construction of a ferry boat to operate the line connecting the port of Bar with Italy's Bari.
"A team was set up to hold talks with Chinese partners on the potential construction of a new ferry boat," the director of Barska Plovidba's tour agency, Sanja Tomasevic, said in a video file posted on the website of Montenegrin public broadcaster Radio Televizija Crne Gore (RTCG) on Monday.
Croatian shipping company Jadrolinija started operating the Bar-Bari ferry line with its Dubrovnik ship on Friday under a contract signed with Barska Plovidba in April, Tomasevic said.
Jadrolinija will operate the Bar-Bari route once weekly in May, September, October and November, and twice a week in June, July and August, she noted.
The operation of the Bar-Bari line by Barska Plovidba was halted in December, as global Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) group Bureau Veritas said the Sveti Stefan II vessel of the company does not meet the technical requirements for transporting passengers anymore, due to inadequate repairs.
The Dubrovnik ship can transport 1,300 passengers and 250 cars, RTCG said.