Ferry still "beached" on Island

Description:

The Jadrolinija Marco Polo ferry that ran aground on Sit Island on 24 October in Croatia is still marooned in its position with no immediate hope of a solution. Experts from Smit Salvage Company in Rotterdam have traveled to Croatia to help analyse how the passenger ferry can be re-floated but the ship is not in good shape apparently having suffered badly from the island collision and the cost of re-floating it would be high. New equipment would need to be purchased which would also increase the cost considerably.

The daily newspaper "Novi list" has reported that the ship cannot be put into general action again and that it will need to be scrapped. It said that the 36-year old ferry is insured for four million US dollars and its low-budget re-floating will probably cost one million US dollars. The head of the ferry company which owns the ship however, said on Sunday that the ship would not be scrapped until the investigation into the situation is completed on 17 November. Until such time as a decision is made, 18 private cars are also trapped inside the ferry and cannot be moved or claimed by their owners and the ferry has become somewhat of a tourist attraction, so bizarre is it to see a ship in such a precarious position.