A commercial court in the northern Adriatic port city of Rijeka launched on Friday the preparatory procedure for official receivership of the 3. Maj shipyard, owned by the indebted Uljanik group. This involves appointing an interim administrator at the company and setting a new court hearing in February.

Last week, the state’s Financial Agency (Fina) filed a court request for the company to go into receivership after the dock’s bank account had been frozen for 120 days due to debts of more than 72 million kuna (€9.7 million).

The next court hearing, where the court is to rule whether 3. Maj would formally go into receivership, is set for February 6.

The dock’s unionists said that 3. Maj currently owes about 150 million kuna (€20 million) to its suppliers and contractors, but added that the y have calculated that the Uljanik group, which also owns the Uljanik shipyard in Pula, should pay back a 600 million kuna loan (€81 million) that 3. Maj gave to its mother company, which had acquired a majority stake at the formerly state-owned 3. Maj shipyard in June 2013.

In January, the government agreed to issue a €96 million bank guarantee for a bank loan Uljanik management wanted to borrow, under the condition that within six months they find a “strategic partner,” i.e. another company willing to invest in a new round of the perennially indebted dock.

In late March, Kermas Energija, a smaller shipbuilding company owned by entrepreneur Danko Koncar, was selected as Uljanik’s strategic partner.

But then after several months of cancellations of orders, several worker strikes and regular freezings of accounts of both Uljanik and 3. Maj docks, the entire Uljanik Group found itself on the verge of bankruptcy again.

By September, Uljanik management came up with another restructuring plan worth at first €584 million which they sent to Zagreb, expecting the government and the “strategic partner” jointly burden the cost. After Brussels rejected the plan and sent 75 objections to it, the management went back to the drawing board and later came up with new versions of the plan, which in the process ir rumoured to have ballooned to about €1.3 billion by early December.

Last month, the supervisory board of the Uljanik shipyard decided to terminate the “strategic partnership” with Kermas Energija in order to seek another partner who would be willing to invest in the group’s restructuring. The company’s so-called data room was then opened to all prospective strategic partners.

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