Jadrolinija

Jadrolinija is a Croatian ferry company. It is state-owned and it primarily connects Croatian islands to the mainland by operating regular passenger and cargo transport services. The company mainly operates car ferries on domestic routes along the Croatian coast, as well as international routes across the Adriatic Sea to Italy (to ports at Ancona and Bari).

Jadrolinija currently operates a fleet of 54 vessel: it has several large car ferries; ''Zadar'' and ''Dalmacija'' ''Marko Polo'' are used on international routes, mostly to the Italian cities of Bari and Ancona. There are also 38 smaller ferries used for local passenger service, 12 catamarans, and four smaller passenger ships. The fleet's total carrying capacity is 4,084 vehicles and 29,902 passengers.

Jadrolinija was founded in Rijeka on 20 January 1947 as a continuation of various smaller shipping companies which had operated along the Croatian coast since 1872. In 2023, its ships carried 12,411,217 passengers and 3,579,647 vehicles.

Projects

In January 2022, Minister Oleg Butković announced the procurement of six new ships, three passenger ships, two of which are hybrid-powered up to 45 meters in length and three catamarans. It is expected that two will be built in 2023. One of the ships should replace the MS Postira.

In November 2022, Jadrolinija announced a tender for the sale of MF Dubrovnik at a price of 2.85 million euros. The competition lasts until March 2023. The ship was eventually sold to the Greek company A-Ships.

In December 2022, Jadrolinija announced a tender for the purchase of a used ferry, between 100-110 m long, 17-19 m wide and 2.9 m draft, with a passenger capacity of at least 500 in winter and 700 in summer. The tender was canceled in May 2023, but was announced again in June 2023. At the opening of bids, only one bid worth 7.695 million euros was received, from Livadas Shipping Co. from Greece. On 13 July Jadrolinija accepted the offer and bought ship even after media writing about the unsuitability of the ship for navigation in the Adriatic. The ship was renamed as MF Sveti Duje after the Saint Domnius.

In January 2023, a tender was announced for the procurement of three new electrically powered passenger ships. The ships sail in the Dubrovnik area, on the line to the Elafites, in the Šibenik area, where they will maintain a connection with Prvić, Zlarin and other islands, and in the Lošinj archipelago, if necessary, use them on other lines as well. The approximate length of the ships should be about 45 to 50 meters, with a transport capacity of about 390 passengers. The planned value of each of the ships, according to unofficial announcements, is around EUR 15 million, with co-financing by EU funds in the amount of 65 percent of their total value. These ships should be built by the end of 2026 at the latest, and by then HEP, together with the competent port authorities, should provide adequate connections for charging their batteries in the ports where they will dock. This year, Jadrolinija intends to start the construction of a new ferry for the Zadar water area. The tender was eventually annulled as none of the contestants met the conditions, which led to publication of new tender for which the application deadline is 1 August. The builder for the econd tender was chosen as Kraljevica Shipyard, with a full arrangement to be concluded and ships to be built until the end of 2026.

In April 2023, a tender was announced for the purchase of two catamarans, for which Jadrolinija is ready to pay up to 14 million euros without VAT. The condition for these ships is that they must be up to 5 years old, up to 40 meters long and up to 12 meters wide, each with a capacity of at least 300 passengers, and intended for international routes on the Adriatic Sea. Offers for these fast passenger ships are accepted until May 3rd 2023. On 15 July 2023 Jadrolinija presented HSC Danica and HSC Kata as new catamarans bought from TP line for 13.4 million euros without VAT.

In August 2023, the state shipowner announced a public procurement worth 18.3 million euros, according to which the ships must not be older than two years. The technical specifications, among other things, foresee a length of 40 meters, a width of 12 meters, a minimum speed of 27 knots and a capacity of a minimum of 300 passengers, and the material of manufacture must be aluminum. The ships must be delivered no later than the last day of June 2024, and the offer deadline is September 26, 2023.

On 20 February 2024, Jadrolinija put MS Unije (ex Panagia Εvaggelistria) in service on line Mali Lošinj – Unije – Vele Srakane – Susak. The ship was bought for 2 million euros in April 2023 from Star Gem Maritime Company located in Greece.

Ships

''List of ships - updated on 01 May 2024''

Ferries

Catamarans

Conventional ships

Former ships

* MF Dubrovnik - built in 1979, sold to A-Ships from Greece in 2023
* MF Liburnija - built in 1965, sold for scrap in 2015.
* MF Lubenice - built in 1989, sold for scrap to Turkey in 2022
* MS Perast - built in 1963, attacked by JNA forces in 1991, retired in the same year, and scrapped in 2004.
* MF Prizna - built in 1970, sold to Morsko dobro from Montenegro in 2023
* MS Tijat - built in 1955, retired in 2023
* HSC Vida - built in 2011., sold in 2025.

Gallery

References

Notes

Further reading

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External links

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Ferry companies of Croatia
Government-owned transport companies
Companies based in Rijeka
Transport companies established in 1947
1947 establishments in Croatia
Government-owned companies of Croatia
Croatian brands