The successful navigation of these rough financial waters will determine whether this proud Montenegrin company can return to profitability and continue its historic mission of flying the Montenegrin flag across the world's oceans.
In 2021, the company reported a net profit of over €4 million, a dramatic turnaround from near-zero profits in the previous decade. However, by 2023–2024, as supply chains normalized and fuel costs rose, profits stabilized at moderate levels.
This state ownership is a double-edged sword. It provides bailout security during market crashes but exposes the company to political interference in management decisions.
Then, disaster struck. On June 15, 2025, the Kotor was detained in the port of Savannah, Georgia, by the U.S. Coast Guard. The inspection revealed a total of nine procedural and technical deficiencies, including a failure in the safe steering system caused by defects in the main and auxiliary engines. The ship remained stuck in the U.S., racking up daily costs that threatened to exceed its market value. Minister Radulović publicly declared that all legal mechanisms were exhausted and that the government could no longer help the company. By September, the company’s total debt was estimated at €37.3 million, including €33.8 million owed directly to the state for its guarantees.
Following the Savannah incident, Minister of Maritime Affairs Filip Radulović announced that all legal mechanisms to pour state funds into the company had been completely exhausted under EU state-aid laws. The government faced two options: liquidate the company or orchestrate an immediate emergency asset sale to prevent foreign ports from seizing the ships at auction. crnogorska plovidba
During the 1990s sanctions against Yugoslavia, the fleet was largely immobilized. However, after sanctions were lifted, the company rebuilt its fleet and commercial presence, focusing on international charter markets.
The decade from 2015 to 2024 was a slow, agonizing grind for Crnogorska plovidba. The company’s accumulated loss grew steadily, surpassing €10 million by August 2016, with long-term provisions and liabilities at €38.36 million. Its own capital was negative, hovering around -€912,778. The core problem was its inability to service the Chinese loan. The government was forced repeatedly to step in as a guarantor, paying installments on the company’s behalf to prevent a default. Each time the state paid, the company’s debt to its own owner—the government of Montenegro—increased.
Crnogorska Plovidba: The Rise, Crisis, and Selling of Kotor’s National Shipping Fleet
The company has had virtually no activity since the sale, yet it continues to exist as a ghostly entity. It still has an executive director, seven employees, and five members of the board of directors, all receiving salaries and benefits, with no clear plan for the future. The state has effectively lost its entire founding stake, along with most of the loans it guaranteed. The successful navigation of these rough financial waters
A series of economic assessments revealed extreme underlying vulnerabilities:
[Crnogorska Plovidba Fleet] ──(Time-Charter)──> [Global Charterers] ──> [International Trade Routes]
. Strategically based in the historic naval town of Kotor, the enterprise was founded to rebuild the country's national commercial fleet and maintain a vital link to international bulk cargo markets. Controlled 99.97% by the Montenegrin government, the company operates on the global open freight market through long-term time charters. However, it faces severe structural and financial challenges that threaten its ongoing existence. The Genesis and Strategic Mission
In early 2025, an additional bank overdraft of roughly €400,000 became due, threatening account blockages and forced bankruptcy. This state ownership is a double-edged sword
Dan 3 — Bar → Budva (≈25–30 NM)
Ensuring the country maintains a physical presence in global supply chains.
The 1990s brought catastrophe. The breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, followed by the devastating Bosnian and Croatian wars, led to strict United Nations sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). Crnogorska Plovidba’s fleet was essentially grounded. Unable to trade internationally, the company hovered on the brink of bankruptcy. Many of its finest vessels were sold for scrap or impounded in foreign ports.
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