Macedonia Bans All Navigation in Ohrid Lake

Tourists flocking to the beautiful Ohrid Lake in Macedonia were stranded over the weekend, after Skopje banned all ship navigation over unsafe conditions on tour boats. Photo by BGNES

The Macedonian Transport Ministry banned all ship navigation in the lake Ohrid, according to a publication in the Macedonian daily “Utrinski Vestnik.”

The ban became effective Friday and left hundreds of visitors stranded, not being able to reach the top attraction in the area – the St. Naum monastery.

Over the weekend, ship owners protested against the order, saying it is illegal and groundless. The order mandates all vessels to be registered with the French company “Bureau Veritas” to be inspected, after Macedonia suspended its contract with the German branch of the Lloyd company.

The Lloyd representative in the country is indicted over the sinking of the tour boat Ilinden in the beginning of September 2009, when 15 Bulgarian tourists drowned.

Just very recently, the Macedonian Transportation Ministry signed a new contract with the French company to inspect the ships. The cost is, however, the staggering for Macedonia EUR 7 700 per year, and ship owners refuse to pay this amount. They want a contract with the Bulgarian or Serbian ship registry, saying their fee is not more than EUR 2 500 per year.

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