The Jadran training ship belongs to Croatia, which will do its utmost to return it to its home port of Split, Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic said on Tuesday, responding to his Montenegrin counterpart's statement that the ship will remain in Montenegro and sail under its flag.

The 85th anniversary of the commissioning of the most valuable and most beautiful ship of the Montenegrin Navy, which used to serve as a training ship of the former Yugoslav Navy, was marked on Monday in the Montenegrin port of Tivat. Montenegro Defence Minister Predrag Boskovic said his country was open to all allies using the Jadran but that the vessel would stay in Montenegro and sail under its flag.

The Montenegrin government in 2013 gave significant funds for a major overhaul of the vessel so that it could continue to sail and be at everyone’s service, in Montenegro, Boskovic said, adding that the government planned to open the ship to members of the public and tourists and noting that the vessel was viewed by close to 2,000 people during an open day event.

Tivat Mayor Sinisa Kusovac recalled the Jadran’s decades-long ties with Tivat and the Bay of Kotor which, he said, started in 1933 when the then new sailing ship arrived in Tivat.

The ship’s captain, Lieutenant Commander Zoran Ivanovski, recalled its long history, noting that the Jadran was launched on 25 June 1931 and that its construction and final equipment was completed in June 1933, while on 16 July that same year it was welcomed with a big ceremony in Tivat, its home port then and now.

Croatia’s Defence Minister, Damir Krsticevic, responded on Tuesday via a press release that the ship belonged to Croatia and was an inalienable part of its maritime history. “Croatia will undertake every legitimate step to return it under the Croatian flag and expects Montenegro to respect international law and the succession agreement,” which includes the Jadran, he added.

As a sign of good will and good neighbourly relations, Croatia has agreed to the possibility of jointly using the Jadran for the training of both countries’ cadets.

“However, the Jadran’s home port can only be in Split, just as it was in 1990, when the ship was taken to Boka Kotorska (in Montenegro) for an overhaul but was never returned,” said Krsticevic.

Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.