The government of Montenegro has confirmed that the Bijela shipyard on the country’s Adriatic coast is to be developed into a superyacht repair facility
Located in Boka Kotorska Bay, one of the safest natural harbours in the world the “Adriatic Shipyard Bijela” is the biggest ship repairing yard in the Southern Adriatic. It is, and has centuries long shipbuilding and maritime tradition.
The Shipyard was established in 1927 and covers an area of more than 120,000m². It has two floating docks. The first is fitted with a lifting capacity of 33,000 tonnes and equipped with two cranes, while the second is fitted with a lifting capacity of 10,000 tonnes and also two cranes. Bijela’s installed capacity enables repair works performed on vessels of up to 120,000dwt.
Set up in 1927, Bijela says it is the largest ship repair yard in the Southern Adriatic. The remaining 38.42% of the company’s shares are owned by a number of private shareholders, according to Bijela.
From a statement issued locally it has been learned that Prime Minister Duško Marković recently met with Dutch businessman Kommer Damen, the chairman of Damen Shipyards Group, and suggested the formation of a consortium involving both the Dutch family owned company and the locally based marina operator Porto Montenegro a facility that offers berthing to 450 for boats from 12 to 250 metres overall
At that meeting, Marković said that securing the investment was part of Montenegro’s efforts to establish itself as a premium tourist destination.
Damen Shipyards Group operates 33 shipyards worldwide, of which 15 are located in the Netherlands.
Daman employs more than 1,500 worldwide. If the bid is successful the facility would become Damen’s first such investment in the country but not the first time they have shown interest in the yard. In 2014 the group was the only company to submit a price in tender to acquire the government’s 61.57% stake in the shipyard. Private shareholders own the remaining 38.42%.
The estimated value of that deal was disclosed the tender indicated that the selected bidder would be required to implement an investment programme of at least €15 million (US$20.5 million) to develop the capacities of the shipyard over the three years following acquisition.