Croatia court puts biggest shipyard in bankruptcy

Croatia’s largest and oldest shipyard was placed in bankruptcy by a court on Monday after a long-running debt crisis, state news agency Hina reported.

The dock in Pula, which lies on Croatia’s northern Adriatic coast, is one of two yards owned by the troubled Uljanik firm, whose workers have been holding regular strikes over unpaid wages for much of the past year.

After several efforts to save the company, which is 25 percent state-owned, Croatia’s government pulled its support for a restructuring plan in March which it said was too costly.

“The state has obviously decided to abandon Uljanik, which has existed for 163 years,” Boris Cerovac, a union leader, was quoted as saying by Hina after the court decision.

The move has effectively “shut down shipbuilding in Croatia,” he added.

Before the recent debt crisis Uljanik employed around 4,000 people across its two docks, Pula and 3. Maj in Rijeka, which is also under review by courts for bankruptcy.

The group was a core player in Croatia’s once prosperous shipbuilding industry, which used to be among the top global competitors during its heyday in the 1980s.

The sector has floundered in recent decades, dragged down by a difficult transition to a market economy, poor management and outdated technology as it struggles to compete with firms in Asia.

Restructuring of Croatia’s shipbuilding sector was a key condition for the country’s entry into the European Union in 2013.

The country’s other two large shipyards -- Brodotrogir and Brodosplit -- were privatised in the process.