"People, don't worry about your salaries and jobs, Croatia's shipbuilding industry has been saved," he said at the delivery of a US$ 50 million tanker for the transport of chemical and oil products to representatives of the Norwegian Blystad Group for a five-year lease.
Vrdoljak said that two and a half years ago, when the government embarked on the restructuring of the shipyards, he was afraid as to whether they would succeed. "Two and a half years later, Croatia's shipbuilding has not only survived... but is becoming a competitive world shipbuilding industry with private owners, where the government has to fulfil all of its obligations during the restructuring programme."
He said Croatia's shipbuilding would be even more successful "because Croatian shipyards are trusted in the world" despite risks on the world market and a loss of trust in the stability of shipbuilding.