735

1 INTRODUCTION

In recent decades, the global shipping industry, as the

foundation of global trade, has faced growing

challenges in aligning its operations with established

sustainability goals and ongoing technological

progress (Uchechukwu, 2024). When assessed in terms

of the value it generates, the entire transport by ships,

maritime industry, as a global industry, is facing a

great number of challenges that require prompt and

robust responses. One of its main challenges is aligning

rapid growth and technological progress with the

requirements of green technology and sustainable

development. The growing need to introduce

alternative fuels, reduce exhaust gas emissions, utilise

renewable energy sources more effectively, implement

artificial intelligence in ship management systems, and

develop energy-efficient vessel designs capable of

enhanced wind-assisted propulsion raises important

is an indisputable fact that all ships, especially

passenger ships, must be technologically upgraded

and made as 'eco-friendly' as possible because of

increasingly strict regulations concerning quality,

safety, and environmental standards. However, many

questions remain unsolved, such as the adaptation

period, the scope of each segment of the maritime

industry, as well as the issue of transparency and ethics

in the implementation of green technology,

particularly in less developed maritime countries.

ABSTRACT: The development of a green ship fleet in the maritime industry can be achieved only through

investments in shipbuilding and outfitting technologies, as well as improvements in the environmental

performance of propulsion engines and the more efficient use of renewable energy sources that ships will utilise

during navigation or while in a port. Jadrolinija, a joint-stock company that is the Croatian national passenger

shipping company, should intensify its efforts to renew its fleet of vessels that transport domestic passengers and

tourists from the mainland to the most remote island destinations in the Republic of Croatia. The objective of this

total expenditures during the observed period?

correlation between Jadrolinija’s total expenditures

and total investments during the observed period?

correlation between Jadrolinija’s total revenue and

total investments during the observed period?

This paper consists of five chapters. The

At the end of the 19th century, several Croatian

shipowners joined together and established a new

shipping company, so in 1899, the first modern

shipping company, Ungaro-Croata, was founded. The

company primarily focused on the transport of goods

companies, Jadranska plovidba (formerly known as

Ungaro-Croata), Dalmatija, the Austro-Croatian Steamship

Company, Coastal Steamship Company from Dubrovnik,

the Croatian Steamship Company from Senj, and Oceanija

from Trieste, joined together and agreed on the new

name of the merged company: Jadranska plovidba JSC

Sušak. In 1947, a new shipping company called

Jadranska linijska plovidba. Jadranska linijska plovidba

developed steadily up until the 1960s, ordering new

vessels and renewing the old ones. During this period,

ferries were introduced to connect the islands with the

mainland, and international maritime routes were

gradually established. Jadrolinija played an extremely

important role during the Croatian Homeland War,

when, despite numerous naval blockades and attacks

on its vessels, it successfully connected parts of Croatia

that were attacked (Povijesni pregled nastanka i

As the company continued to grow and new

maritime routes were introduced, the need emerged

for a more attractive, representative, and centrally

palace had been built to serve as the headquarters of

the first Hungarian shipping company, Adria, founded

in Rijeka in 1882 ( Palača Jadran - simbolika Rijeke kao

pomorskog emporija kozmopolitskih razmjera,

https://www.jadrolinija.hr/hr/novost/zgrada-

jadrolinije---palaca-jadran, accessed June 2, 2025).

737

2.2 The role and the current state of Jadrolinija

construction of these vessels will require both the

seafarers’ additional training and adequate

infrastructure for charging the vessels’ batteries,

benefits for domestic seafarers and other employees.

Furthermore, it must ensure continuous training and

preparedness of its crew for emergency situations at

sea, and for other types of threats and crises that could

endanger its reputation and operations in the future.

3 THEORETICAL LITERATURE REVIEW ON

INVESTMENTS IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY

WITH A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE

APPLICATION OF GREEN TECHNOLOGY

able to operate on other fuels rather than oil” (Clarksons

Shipping Intelligence Network 2024 in Moutzouris et al.,

2025, p. 2). Rebolo (2020) emphasises the role of the

EU through the Green Shipping Guarantee (GSG)

programme (Green Shipping Guarantee Program,

available at

https://www.eib.org/en/projects/all/20150334, accessed

July 1, 2025). For the European shipping companies,

this is an excellent opportunity for a more substantial

fleet renewal. A large and comprehensive empirical

study of the role of green investments under conditions

of market uncertainty was conducted by Moutzouris et

financial results was elaborated in more detail by

Quddus (2023). According to Kim and Park (2025),

vessel investments are the key to success in the

shipping industry and have a great impact on the

global economic trends. Furthermore, Kim and Park

(2025) also emphasise that a “key factor in the

profitability of vessel investments is the interaction

among various factors, including the type of vessel,

market conditions, and operational efficiency”. Kim

and Park (2025) classify investment strategies in the

shipping industry into those with a short-term

investment processes in ensuring the development of

maritime infrastructure in Ukraine. If financial

investments were categorised by time periods,

according to Edan et al. (2022), they would be classified

into short-term and long-term investments. Investment

decision-making choices in liner shipping companies

were analysed by Fan and Luo (2013). They point out

that investment decision-making choices can be

classified using the decision tree method, either as the

order of a completely new vessel or as the purchase of

739

making when evaluating and selecting each option are

prevailing transport market conditions, current ship

market conditions, and the specific attributes of the

vessel (Fan and Luo, 2013). The decision-making

process, i.e., the purchase, is shown in Figure 8.

management. Fan and Luo (2013) highlight the

differences in decision-making on purchasing a vessel,

i.e., in making an investment. They emphasise that new

vessel orders will be made only if the company has a

clearly outlined long-term strategic plan, whereas used

vessels will be purchased solely to address the

company’s short-term operational requirements.

companies must be extremely cautious when deciding

on investing in vessels”. Insufficient investments may

result in financial losses and reduce the company’s

current market share. Therefore, they can endanger the

company’s long-term competitive position. However,

excessive investments can produce negative cash flow,

especially when freight rates are low (Fan and Luo,

2013).

4 METODOLOGY AND REVIEW OF THE

RESEARCH RESULTS

indicators such as total revenue and total expenditures.

For this purpose, official internal data were obtained

from Jadrolinija and delivered to the authors’ official e-

mail addresses. The data included in this research were

the company's total revenue, total expenditures, and

two observed variables. Although frequently used in

the maritime industry, the authors highlight its

application in the research on the correlation between

maritime safety and safety-related factors conducted

by Kim (2005). The data obtained from Jadrolinija refer

to an eleven-year period and were analysed using the

statistical software package Jamovi (Version 2.3) within

2024. It can be noticed that vessel purchase and the

integration of vessels into the fleet account for the

largest share of total investments, specifically, 79.11%

over the observed eleven-year period. Jadrolinija

continuously invested in new vessels throughout the

observed period, except in 2017 and 2022, when no

investments in new vessels were recorded, as shown in

Table 2.

Capital maintenance accounted for 10.11%;

investments in equipment, property, and IT made up

10.64%, while project-related investments represented

only 0.14% of total investments during the observed 11-

year period. Therefore, it can be concluded that, as far

as investments are concerned, Jadrolinija invested more

in the purchase of vessels and their integration into the

significant. Therefore, these findings give the answer to

Research Question 1, i.e., “Has Jadrolinija invested more

financial resources into purchasing and integrating new

vessels into the fleet than into other types of investments in

the observed period?”.

Source: Authors, according to Jadrolinija’s internal data

revenue growth is the company’s financial indicator.

The ratio of total revenue and total expenditures, used

as a financial indicator of the company’s business

analysis, was applied in the research by Posavec et al.

(2021). Dong and Doukas (2022), according to Fitri and

(r=0.617, Table 4). Therefore, these findings give the

answer to Research Question 3, i.e., “Is there a positive

correlation between Jadrolinija’s total expenditures and total

investments during the observed period?”. Furthermore,

the research also indicated that there is an insufficiently

significant level of positive correlation between total

revenue and total investments (r = 0.577, Table 4),

give the answer to Research Question 4, i.e., “Is there a

positive correlation between Jadrolinija’s total revenue and

total investments in the observed period?”.

DEVIATION

1.66e+7

17101106

47635188

Source and data processing: Authors

understanding of the relation between the variables

examined in the research, their interrelations (based on

findings from the reviewed scientific literature) are

INVESTMENTS

741

revenue and total expenditures (RQ2) and of the

relation between total expenditures and total

investments (RQ3) are positive and statistically

significant despite the small sample size (N=11) and a

low value of degrees of freedom (df=9). However, the

Therefore, in this case, we can speak of a trend, but not

of statistical significance. Due to the small sample size

(N) in this research, no further statistical analysis could

be conducted.

The application of green technology undoubtedly

gives maritime companies the opportunity to gain a

the strategic policies of all Croatian governments since

the establishment of the Republic of Croatia. The key to

the company’s future viability lies in the fact that

Jadrolinija must renew its fleet as soon as possible,

maintain its tradition as a strategically important state-

owned company in liner passenger transport, preserve

its reputation, and retain domestic seafarers. It has to

adapt to the new trends, starting from digitalisation to

the integration of green ships and ships with lower CO₂

indicators (total revenue, total expenditures, and total

investments). Regarding future research, the authors

propose a thorough and more detailed analysis of

international literature, an extended observation

period, and the use of additional financial indicators

deriving from financial reports that could be applied to

future statistical methods and analysis. According to

the available literature and the authors’ knowledge, no

similar research has been conducted so far, which

highlights the scientific contribution of this paper.