Zagreb - Croatia received two valid bids in an international tender for its six shipyards, the country's privatization fund said Wednesday.

Offers were made for Brodotrogir in Trogir and for Brodosplit, the smaller of the two shipyards, in Split. It was not immediately clear whether the offers would be accepted.

"The problems of the Croatian shipbuilding industry are much larger" than what had been indicated at the end of 2008," Deputy Premier Damir Polancec said after the offers were opened.

"This is another indicator that the privatization of Croatian shipyards, I mean its second round, must be carried out as soon as possible," he said.

Croatia, next in line to join the European Union, was told by Brussels that it must sell its heavily subsidized shipbuilding industry in order to become a member.

The six shipyards, three on the north of Croatia's Adriatic coast and three in the south, employ some 12,000 people, while tens of thousands depend on the industry directly or indirectly.

Once the country's second-largest hard-currency earner, after tourism, the Croatian shipbuilding has now for years depended on subventions in order to keep the docks operating. (dpa)