The government of Montenegro has approved a decision for Montenegrin Shipping, a state-owned company, to take a loan from Prva Banka in order to refinance its overdraft debt.
On April 11, the government reviewed the information regarding the urgent need to address the current liquidity issues of the company and made decisions accordingly. Shareholder meetings for the shipping companies are scheduled for May 19.
In the meantime, Prva Banka has blocked all accounts of Montenegrin Shipping due to an outstanding overdraft debt of around 400,000 EUR.
Given that Montenegrin Shipping cannot cover operational costs due to the blocked accounts, and considering that all these issues have been reported to the ITF, it is very likely that the company will have to stop its vessels in the nearest port, which would lead to significantly increased costs.
These costs could escalate to the point of jeopardizing the company’s ownership of vessels valued between 15 and 20 million EUR.
To avoid this scenario, Montenegrin Shipping must unblock its accounts immediately in order to pay part of the wages to seafarers by the end of April and prevent the vessels from being halted, the government explained.
As a result, Montenegrin Shipping has applied for a refinancing loan from Prva Banka, which would allow them to settle the overdraft debt and unblock their accounts.
According to Prva Banka, the loan will have a three-year repayment period with a three-month grace period. The current debt amounts to 401,530 EUR, plus legal fees and an additional penalty interest of 2%, which amounts to 8,030 EUR per month.
The government has stated that this loan arrangement will have no impact on the Montenegrin state budget.
