The administrative procedure of the announcement of sailing in of a foreign yacht is still pretty complicated, and in the chain of the various parts of State Government with which nautical tourists have to come in contact with, as a rule something has to go hard. Nautical tourism in Montenegro has experienced the greatest ascent in the last ten years- piers and half raised marines were overfilled with extremely attractive and mainly foreign tourist yachts and tourist ships. The beauty of the Montenegrin coast and the hinterland in the eyes of the tourists and nautical tourist has still in great extent overshadowed numerous lacks in the offer for those kind of tourists.
In the entire coast, from Ponte Ostro to the mouth of the River Bojana, in this moment there is not a single marina that can give a complete service of the intake of the ships with all the aspects of the service of the vessel, supply; to conduct the administrative formalities and especially that has the accompanying resort contents according to world standards. Along with that, the administrative procedure of the announcing of the sailing in of a yacht into the Montenegrin territorial sea is still pretty complicated, and in the chain of the various parts of the State Government with which nautical tourists have to come in contact with, as a rule something has to go hard.
The newest confirmation of that came 15 days ago when the Custom Management asked the stating of the ban to the Montenegrin citizens, to steer the vessels for sport and recreation that are registered abroad, in our territorial sea. Motivated by the wish to attempt to additionally fill the state safe, the custom officials have shown elementary ignorance of the conditions in the navigation which, if for the time being the Governmental agencies of the Ministry of sailing and traffic haven’t revoked the appliance of this initiative, for sure would cause more damage than good. If the request of the custom officials would be ratified, all our sailors who as skippers work on foreign yachts and sail in, in Montenegrin ports would be left without either a job or they would drive their rich clientele to some rival destination because the administration of their own country forbids them to steer a foreign yacht in our waters. For now rare but in the perspective a large number of citizens of Montenegro, which are able to indulge themselves with a new yacht or a motor boat, could no longer count on foreign banks and specialized credit organizations that credit the acquisition of new vessels for sport and recreation.
The potential problems which in a few years can significantly influence further development of the nautical tourism in Kotor, known as a topnotch potential for attracting VIP foreign navigators, and especially visits of large traveling ships that are cruising over the Mediterranean, generates, consciously or not, the Government itself. Giving the Slovenian “Ponting” a task to make idée fixe project of the new bridge Verige, no one from the Government obviously hasn’t thought of the fact that under the bridge which will spread between capes Sveta nedjelja and Opatovo, large ships on their way to Kotor bay should go under. Slovenians therefore have projected a bridge, whose height above the sea is 55 meters, so Port Kotor can “say goodbye” to the arrival of the extremely attractive, large ships. The biggest sailing boat in the world, the beautiful “Royal Clipper” which has sailed in Kotor several times this year, with its main mast of height of 60 meters above water will not be able to go under this new bridge.
A very important link in the development of the nautical tourism the state should make also through the Nautical Management to which in Montenegro comes an imminent reorganization and going back to the state as it was few years ago. When at that time independent institutions “Plovput” Bar and “Jugoregistar” Tivat by the will of the politicians were put under one roof of the Nautical Management security of Montenegro, the profession protested and warned that that is not a good solution. The authorized realized that with several years delay so “Plovput” and “Jugoregistar”, which in the future will be known as Montenegrin register of ships (CRB) from January 1st 2007 will again operate separately.
According to the words of the head of the current Sector of the technical inspectorate UPS (of the former “Jugoregostar”), captain Milan Petrovic, already, the preparations for CRB are set in motion so that in the future it can provide attractive conditions for the owners of the foreign vessels of sport and recreation to register and sign them in Monetengro, by which the state will get new incomes, and Montenegro could in the future by the appearance of its flag on the seas could slowly be a competitor to the countries with so-called “flag privilege’ like Panama, American federal state Delaver, British Isle Man and Isle Jersey.
The positive part of the story about the development of the nautical tourism in Montenegro, apart from the domestic enthusiasts, give also the announcements of foreign investors, so in that sense Tivat, if the Government sells Arsenal to the Canadian multimillionaire Piter Mank, will become one of the leading nautical centers on the Mediterranean.
In the area of the current military shipyard, Military Club, stadium of FC “Arsenal, and the soil between Military House and the fence of MTRZ, in the period from three to eight years by the investment from 50 to 175 million Euros, Mank plans to make, in stages, marinas for mega yachts and nautical-tourist center with 625 port knots for ships form 8 to 20 meters length, 52 for yachts of 25 to 55 meters length and 5 for the ships of 100 meters length. From the current MTRZ there would only stay a synhro-elevator for taking yachts out if the sea, while the other buildings would be replaced by the complexes of three hotels, casino, numerous restaurants, boutiques, nautical museum, sailing and yacht club, medical center, sports complexes and other exclusive buildings with machines.
In order to make Montenegro the most attractive destination on the entire Mediterranean for the navigators, for which, as the pioneer of the nautical tourism Miso Ostojic, the owner of the company OMC which is the operant of the Marina “Sveti Nikola” (St. Nicola) in Port of Bar, it has all predispositions, we should above all “work on laws”.
-We should adapt them to the countries in the region; we must be much more flexible to attract as many possible navigators. Why foreign navigators wouldn’t register under Montenegrin flag, which for them would have more conveniences than now – asks Ostojic.
How much it is important to follow the regulations, proves the police ban of overflowing fuel in yachts and motor boats from tank – truck in Bar, which is applied also in several other ports and marinas up to Herceg Novi, and it conditioned that almost the entire week from Boka to Bar it was impossible to fill with fuel tanks of yachts. The Commission of Ministry of Internal Affairs made such a decision because of the security and ecological reasons. The size of the problem is best described by the necessities of the yachts, for whose tanking 10.000 up to 300.000 liters is needed, the amount which is “gulped” by the mega yachts. This detail turns attention on the marine infrastructure. Ostojic mentions that we need as many marinas prepared with knots for ships, “so that this summer doesn’t repeat, that in front of the port people are waiting to tie their ship”.
Budva and Kotor were full, also in “Sveti Nikola” we didn’t have possibility to receive all the people that have come to us, and it was similar in AD Marina Bar. These marinas have to provide themselves with the basic offer – electricity, water, and safe knots for ships.
Montenegro with a motor yacht can be encircled for a day or two, and we can’t attract those people with anything else but the quality of service and prices. We should invest in services, but also in winter homes, so that all those vessels during the winter can be in our marinas in safe knots, in the sea and the garages, because Montenegro is geographically ideally positioned, between Greece and Croatia, which are top-nautical destinations – states Ostojic. The Director of the Management of nautical security, Captain Krsto Rakocevic considers that the opening of the port in Budva for international traffic has largely unburdened Bar and Zelenika for receiving yachts and sailboats. According to the data of UPS, this summer is the best nautical season of Montenegro, compared to 2005 the number of entrances of navigators from all over the world is increased for 100%. In the entire 2004, 400 vessels under foreign flags have visited us, and in 2006 until August 1st there were around 600.
I’m pointing out another important aspect of the entire story – the personnel. We have the nautical and several tourist faculties, and it should be taken care that they prepare navigators who will in several years take over the maintaining of this business. Only “Sveti Nikola” has looked for 16 skippers this summer. Sailors easily retrain for skippers; they do almost the same and much easier and nicer job for the same money. Every yacht seeks for at least one or two members of the crew, and that is a chance for the new employment. Beside the management, in the marinas tailors, electricians are in deficit. For the service of the yachts from “persing” family we cooperate with the experts from Italy, and every day more and more with the Croatians too – concluded Ostojic.
S.LUKOVIC-R.PETRIC
