The government in Montenegro will sell the 22 meter-long vessel, called Primorka, because it can’t afford to maintain it, said Snezana Djurkovic assistant minister at the Ministry for Transport, Maritime Affairs and Telecommunications. „The ship is rarely used more than 30 times a year on average and the government did not allocate funds from the budget for its maintenance,” Djurkovic said in an interview. The vessel, built in Italy in 1974 and used by Tito before his death in 1980, is still going after sinking and being raised from the sea bottom in two separate accidents. In 2000, Montenegro sold the ship that carried Tito on his world cruise in the early 1960s to an American businessman for $750,000. In addition to the asking price, Primorka’s buyer will have to spend €200,000 on refurbishing the boat, Djurkovic said. The annual maintenance costs exceed €140,000, she said. Serbia and Montenegro’s navy invested about €75,000 in the vessel’s overhaul before the two countries separated last year. Montenegro inherited the entire naval fleet including missile frigates and submarines, as well as two yachts. Most of the naval vessels also are up for sale because Montenegro wants to transform the former naval force into a coastguard. The Primorka’s four-man crew will receive two month’s wages and a severance payment, Djurkovic said. Montenegro’s government wants to keep Jadranka, another of Tito’s yachts, because it’s newer and it requires less maintenance. Galeb, Tito’s former flagship, is now rusting in its berth in the neighboring Croatian port of Rijeka. (Bloomberg)
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