"Bankruptcy is not the end. Bankruptcy is different from liquidation. Accordingly, now comes another phase and the story continues," Plenkovic told reporters on Monday, according to a government press release.

The prime minister spoke shortly after a Croatian commercial court decided to launch bankruptcy proceedings against Uljanik Shipyard. The court's decision granted a request by Croatia's financial agency FINA submitted in March which is seeking the shipyard's bankruptcy over an outstanding debt of 28.2 million kuna ($4.3 million/3.8 million euro).

Also in March, Croatia's government said it cannot endorse a proposal for the restructuring of struggling shipyards Uljanik and 3 Maj, as the operation would require a huge financial exposure by the state.

In late April, a delegation of the Chinese shipbuilding company arrived in Croatia for talks about a potential investment in the country's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik. Earlier that month, the Croatian government said that representatives of CSIC would visit the Uljanik and 3 Maj shipyards between April 25 and May 10.

The Uljanik Group has been in financial trouble for some time due to the adverse effects of the global financial crisis on the shipbuilding sector in general which has led to a drop in orders for new vessels.