Macedonian Tour Boats Stay In Harbor

The harbour master in Ohrid has banned the boats from sailing as their owners refuse to pay some 7700 thousand euros to a French company that has been recently contracted to conduct the inspection that is carried out each year.

The boat owners are upset with the Macedonian Ministry of Transport for signing the deal with the French firm, arguing that similar companies from neighboring Serbia or Bulgaria would have charged them not more than 2,500 euros for the same work.

“We have been requesting since this winter that a new [inspection] company be found but the harbour master did not do that,” Goran Ustijanovski, the head of the Association of Ohrid Boat Operators, told media.

He claims that the boat operators have been unlawfully banned from sailing as their certificate from last year is valid for at least one more month. “International regulations say that a technical safety check can be done up to three months after the license runs out and ours ran out only one month ago.”

But the harbour master was strict, saying that all boats that sail without properly undergoing the inspection by the French company will be fined.

“With good will we can solve this problem,” Ljupco Nasteski, the head of the harbour master's office said. He explained that they are ready to assist the boat operators in obtaining all the necessary details about the technical check. Nasteski insisted that they are only making sure all safety regulations are met.

The measure comes after the September 2009 tragedy involving the Ohrid tour boat “Ilinden” when 15 mostly elderly Bulgarian tourists died after the ship capsized in the lake.

Macedonia stopped using the Germanischer Lloyd company for the safety inspections as one of the company representatives was charged this year with negligence in relation to the Iliden case. He is to stand trial along with the captain of the sunken boat.

Ohrid is by far Macedonia’s biggest tourist destination. The pristine nature of the lake and the surrounding mountains combined with the substantial historic and cultural heritage offered by the town of Ohrid have proven to be tourist magnets.