Atlantska plovidba

History

The history of Atlantska plovidba is tied closely to that of Dubrovnik. At the outset of World War II, the fleet of Dubrovnik consisted of about 200,000 gross register tons (GRT), and represented about half of Yugoslavia's merchant fleet. In addition, Dubrovnik had a financial stake in 30% to 60% of the remaining Yugoslav steamship companies. However, by the end of World War II, only nine ships totalling 42,000 GRT survived.

These nine ships were nationalized and given to the Yugoslav company Jugolinija based in Rijeka, leaving Dubrovnik with no merchant fleet. After several years, citizens of Dubrovnik petitioned Yugoslavia's State Executive Committee to denationalize the fleet. The state agreed, and as a result, Atlantska plovidba was founded 27 May 1955.

In the beginning, the company was given seven tramp steamers totaling 35,038 GRT. These ships burnt coal, were capable of six to eight knots, and were, on average, 35 years old. The company took delivery of the ships between 19 December 1955, and 1957.

The early post-war years were very profitable for the company, allowing it to reinvest in itself. At the same time, the Yugoslavian government became interested in building ships. This combination allowed Atlantska Plovidba to build a fleet of 20 ships of a combined 183,000 GRT by 1965. In addition to tripling its tonnage, the new-building programme cut the average ship age to 17 years.

After building several new ships at Trieste, and the shipyards at Split and Trogir, Atlantska plovidba scrapped the last of the original nine ships in 1970. By 1975, the average ship age in the fleet was down to 7.5 years. In 1976, Atlantska plovidba built their largest dry cargo ship, MV Jadran at 72,887 DWT, and in the 1980s, added 5 panamax vessels, increasing fleet tonnage by 310,000 DWT.