During question time in the Croatian Parliament on Wednesday, Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butkovic, announced plans to purchase six new ships for the state-owned Jadrolinija ferry company.

“This year we plan to buy six new ships – three passenger ferries and three catamarans – through the National Recovery and Resilience Program. Construction of those ships will begin this year and continue in 2023. Dubrovnik can expect a new ship,” Butkovic, a member of the ruling conservative HDZ party, said in response to a question by Mate Frankovic (HDZ) who said that the Jadrolinija ship M/B Postira – which currently operates on routes connecting the southern city of Dubrovnik with the nearby Elaphiti Islands – was obsolete.

Postira, built in 1963 at the Uljanik shipyard in Pula and which can carry 380 passengers, should celebrate 60 years of service next year. But it is not the oldest ship in Jadrolinija’s fleet – that honor goes to M/B Tijat, which was built in 1955 in Split, and which is still in service around the Sibenik area in central Dalmatia.

Postira was damaged in October last year when she accidentally clipped an underwater reef near the island of Sipan.

“Until the replacement arrives, M/B Postira will be repaired, or a used ship will be bought to service that route, added Butkovic.