Meet AmaVista cruiser worth EUR 20 mil – Zasavica shipyard is making another river lady for an American company AmaWaterways

Hammers of hard-working shipyard workers in Zasavica have work to do again. Baptized with a bottle of champaign, a few days ago, the Ama Vista beauty totaling EUR 20 mil, set out to travel. eKapija is discovering how the first river cruiser produced in a rehabilitated shipyard near Sremska Mitrovica which is owned by the Vahali company as of last year, looks like.

The luxurious ship was made for the USA-based company, AmaWaterways, and the way the things are now, Mitrovica citizens will have work to do in the future as well. As eKapija found out at the Vahali company, they are currently making another cruiser of this kind for the American company and they have an order for two more in the next couple of years.

- The ship is 11, 5 meters wide, 135 meters long and it can host 164 passengers maximum. It is meant for sailing the European rivers. It has 79 cabins and three suites – Milos Stefanovic from the Vahali company says for eKapija.

The first passengers ship was made in a rehabilitated shipyard in Zasavica- Macvanska Mitrovica, was sink April 11. Ama Vista is the fifth river cruiser which Vahali is making for AmaWaterways.

Apart from river cruisers, Vahali is producing all kinds of metal vessels, primarily for river and sub coastal traffic. The shipyard comprises a special department for the ship overhaul.

Ten years ago, the Netherlands-based company, moved to the Sava almost the entire production. Today, Vahali comprises three shipyards and the main one is in Belgrade. It was set up in 2005 and has been the most important for the entire company during the past six years. Then, there is a shipyard in the Dutch city Gent, set up in 1923 which today mainly deals with equipping and interior works on ships coming from Belgrade.

At the end, there is former state-owned shipyard – Sava (today operating as Zasavica) and which the Vahali company bought last year. After a nine-year long bankruptcy and six unsuccessful sales, formerly abandoned and left to decline, Mitrovica-based section is working again. Howveer, Zasavica is getting ready to conquer the open sea. Renovation and construction of additional facilities are still in progress and this shipyard will become fully functional in the summer, the company representatives say.

(shipbuilders at Zasavica)

Thanks to mild winter, construction workers were able to work so the halls were completed during the previous months. Late March saw again the reopening of the cutting section in Zasavica with two plasma cutters for different ship sections. As of the beginning of April, in the Vahai shipyard, the latest Polish peiner crane is in function and this giant of 200 tons can lift 60 tons of weight.

- It is planned that the Zasavica shipyard becomes one of the most important ones in the region and we expect it to be fully functional as of June 2014 - eKapija found out at the Dutch company.

Currently Vahali in our country employs 350 people and, as they always remind, since they came to Serbia in 2005 until today, they have never taken subsidies from the state.

Apart from the Vahali company heads, the representatives of the City of Sremska Mitrovica, AmaWaterways, Willemsen interior as well as numerous journalists form the Netherlands and Serbia attended the ceremony of the Ama Vista ship baptizing which is announcing nice days of the formerly forgotten shipyard.

M.S.