The account of the state-owned company, Crnogorska Plovidba, which was blocked by Prva Banka due to unpaid loan obligations, was unblocked on April 30, according to data from the Central Bank.
The block had been placed on April 16, as reported by Vijesti.
On April 25, the government gave its consent for Crnogorska Plovidba to take out a loan with Prva Banka for the purpose of refinancing its overdraft debt.
“Given that Crnogorska Plovidba, due to the block on its current accounts, is unable to cover operational expenses, pay wages to seafarers, insurance premiums, and purchase consumables, and considering that these issues have been reported to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), it is very likely that the ships will be stopped in the nearest port in the coming days, which will consequently lead to significantly increased costs,” stated the government.
The costs, they added, could escalate to a point where they might jeopardize the company’s ownership of its ships, valued at around 15 to 20 million euros.
“To avoid such a scenario, Crnogorska Plovidba must immediately unblock its accounts in order to pay part of the wages to the seafarers by the end of April and prevent its ships from being halted,” the government announced.
