It is most likely that €70 million in state guarantees issued to the Uljanik and 3. Maj shipyards - both part of the Uljanik Group - for building four ships that clients had cancelled this week, would be activated and claimed, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Wednesday.

Maric told reporters that, from the ministry’s point of view, the guarantees that were issued covered certain obligations, and would most likely be activated.

“Considering that contracts for the construction of four ships have been cancelled, in addition to advance guarantees of €30 million, we need to take into account that loans were also taken out for the construction of those ships, and they too are also in part backed by guarantees. As such, we are talking about an amount of almost €70 million,” Maric said.

Asked whether the guarantees would be activated and whether they would immediately be paid out of the state budget, Maric said that the guarantees agreed legally required “unconditional payment at first request.”

He said that a solution to the problem would have to be found through talks with the clients who commissioned the ships and the financial industry, and that it was realistic to expect that the clients would activate those guarantees.

“As far as responsible management of public finances and budget policy is concerned, as finance minister, I am also prepared for the worst possible case scenario, with (all guarantees) being activated and withdrawn,” Maric said.

In light of the upcoming working visit to Croatia on Friday by the EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, just as the European Commission is in the process of deciding whether to approve the restructuring plan for Uljanik shipyard, reporters asked Maric if the solution for the company was closer to bankruptcy, i.e. liquidation of the company, or pre-bankruptcy, i.e. reorganisation .

Maric said that the previous governments had avoided dealing with many problems for years, including those at Uljanik, leaving the management of the company to management boards, supervisory committees, and its owners.

“Now we are faced with a familiar situation, and we cannot expect some instant solution to happen. We are taking numerous aspects of this into consideration, and, as I have said previously many times, the situation isn’t that simple,” Maric said.

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