The word was they were laid up because they were failures, as built. "3. MAJ" shipyard did not have experience in designing and building tugs; "Beli Kamik" and "Rijavec" were its first attempt, and it showed. They were said to be very top heavy and prone to dangerous loss of stability with their top mast fire monitors working full-force. The problem was (kind of) solved by adding large amount of fixed ballast, but they were never considered great tugs...

Cheers

Vlad

I remember RIVAJEC and her sister BELI KAMIK at that very berth in Rijeka (not Bakar), near the old ferry berths, during at least a couple of visits in the early 1980s - I think that they may have been laid up when new for some reason.

This is the same view today (from further away - they've built cafés where you were standing): https://tinyurl.com/y9rem6zt

Sold last year to Montenegrin owners and based at Bar, renamed TITO

It will not be 1973, since the ship was built in 1979.