Brodosplit Accuses Defense Minister of Losing Lawsuit, Then Changing Rules for Ship Registration

Brodogradilište Specijalnih Objekata (BSO), a company within the Brodosplit shipyard group, has accused the Croatian Ministry of Defense and its minister of actions that constitute a "legal precedent" and severely undermine legal security regarding the registration of patrol ships.

BSO asserts that its current financial difficulties are not due to mismanagement but are a direct consequence of a damaged trust with the public procurer. The company claims it continued construction of a project using its own funds and loans, relying on the contract, its addenda, correspondence from the Ministry of Defense (MORH), and government conclusions aimed at mitigating market disruptions.

However, BSO states that MORH refused to acknowledge increased construction costs incurred during the project's realization. The ministry, according to BSO, was only willing to cover costs for project completion, leaving the shipyard solely responsible for earlier price hikes. The most serious accusations concern the process of registering the ships in military registers.

BSO points out that the prototype patrol vessel "Omiš" was registered from 2016 until its handover, and other ships in the series were registered in early 2021. Although MORH initiated court proceedings in 2022 to challenge these registrations, all claims were dismissed by final court decisions, which BSO says confirmed the legality of its ownership of the vessels under construction.

Following these legal defeats, BSO alleges MORH changed its approach. The shipyard claims the ministry waited for BSO to terminate the contract due to the procurer's non-fulfillment of obligations. Four months after BSO legally ended the contract, MORH allegedly initiated new administrative actions to alter the property's status outside of regular court procedures. BSO specifically criticizes the defense minister, stating he amended the "Ordinance on the Military Register of Ships" just one day before submitting a request to register the ships in the military registry. BSO claims it was not provided with the amended ordinance, making it impossible to fully verify the legality of the actions.