Thursday, May 25, 2006
Shipping News
A link from Yakima Gulag points out an interesting result coming from the recent vote in Montenegro to pull out of the shambles of what used to be a much larger Yugoslavia 15 years ago.
Namely, where there was a Yugoslav navy on May 21st, there no longer is one, technically speaking, on May 22nd. What to do with all of the personnel and the ships? Does Yugoslavia follow the fine example of Bolivia and maintain a land-locked naval force patrolling the rivers in Serbia? That decision may not work too well; Yugoslavia does not have a large body of water within its new confines as Bolivia has with Lake Titicaca.
Or will the local painting contractors in Montenegro make a killing re-painting the Yugoslav vessels as Montenegrin ships. That is, if the ships are turned over or sold to the newly recognized country of Montenegro (which has been around in previous incarnations as an independent country).
Will the ships be used for patrolling the Adriatic Sea for criminals, castaways, and drug smugglers, or will they be converted to Mega Luxury Yachts plying the waters around Ulcinj?
Should be an interesting turn of events and negotiations to follow as the tentative split-off between Yugoslavia and Montenegro begins around mid-July of this this summer. Foreign investors are already being curried to lay out major money into the development of Montenegro's beautiful but small (199 km) coastline. But, if you're Yugoslavia, 199 is larger than 0. Even Bosnia-Hercegovina has a spot on the coast, albeit a tiny 20 km.
I'll be visiting Estavisti, Belgrade Blog, Yakima Gulag, and Eric @ East Ethnia for info as it comes in. As an American currently residing in Nis (for a short spell, it seems), Eric's take on what's happening with the split-up should be interesting and enligtening.
Comments:
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Who did the picture? Seriously I love it! I think the Montenegrins waited until Serbia was too broke to afford another war before they bailed. I think they'll be ok, but as for the Serbian navy, they might really want to hang onto a few smaller boats to patrol the Danube and stop illegal crossings. Seriously it DOES sometimes happen!
Oh Croatia is trying to make that bit of coast go away, then again the part of Croatia I visited could find itself as a part of BiH soon if the negotiations go a different way.
Yakima,
Not sure who did the picture. I copied it from this site, specifically here.
High Country, indeed.
Not sure who did the picture. I copied it from this site, specifically here.
High Country, indeed.
...oh, one more thing. I'm not sure if it's on of those urban legends, but supposedly at one of the annual celebrations of Croatia's independence, a number of joggers in the recreational park Jarun in Zagreb were surprisd one morning on seeing a submarine cruising in the lake located in the park. It seems that the Croatian Navy was trying to give the citizens either an example of its mobility and agility by transporting a submarine from the Adriatic to the landlocked artificial lake in Jarun or show the folks that all bodies of water that are part of Croatia are well-protected by its navy.
If this wasn't true, it still qualifies as a solid example of the story-telling ingenuity of the Croatian populace.
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If this wasn't true, it still qualifies as a solid example of the story-telling ingenuity of the Croatian populace.
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