19.7.2010 by Atahualpa.

Skopje | 19 July 2010 | Sinisa Jakov Marusic
Macedonian Tour Boats Stay In Harbor

John Caneo Church, Lake Ohrid

In the midst of the summer tourist season all tour boats in Macedonia’s Ohrid Lake have been banned from sailing as they lack the newly requested technical safety certificates. 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.

The boat Ilinden that sank

“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…………..

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/29556/

06.09.2009

Mazedonien

Touristenboot zerbricht auf Ohrid-See

Fotostrecke: 5 Bilder

dpa

Bei einem Schiffsunglück auf dem Ohrid-See in Mazedonien sind 15 Menschen ums Leben gekommen. An Bord eines kleines Ausflugschiffs befanden sich 55 bulgarische Touristen und zwei Besatzungsmitglieder - das Schiff war jedoch nur für 43 Passagiere zugelassen.

Ohrid - Der 85 Jahre alte Dampfer “Ilinden” zerbrach am Samstag auf dem Ohrid-See in Mazedonien in zwei Teile und sank laut Augenzeugen binnen einer Minute. Die Unglücksstelle war etwa 200 bis 300 Meter vom Ufer entfernt. 15 Menschen konnten nur tot geborgen werden. Vier Passagiere wurden bewusstlos ins Krankenhaus gebracht, waren am Sonntag aber außer Lebensgefahr.

…………………

http://www.spiegel.de/reise/aktuell/0,1518,647251,00.html

Geschrieben in Balkan | 2 Kommentare »