SSG No 4 - Shipgaz

Lithuania and Belorussia looking
for alternative routes for oil transport
ssg-tallinn. According to the news
agency BNS, Russia and Belorussia have
agreed on new oil transit tariffs, which will
rise 30 per cent. For example, the transit
tariff for oil transported to Poland and Germany
via Belorussia will be USD 3.50 per
ton.
According to Transneft, Russian minister
of energy Viktor Khristenko has said that
Russia will try to handle transportation via
its own ports and avoid transit through
other countries in the future.
Russian oil deliveries by pipeline to
Mazheikiu Nafta were halted last summer,
which reduced the oil refinery’s profit since
oil transported by sea is much more expensive.
According to Transneft, it could take
up to two years before oil deliveries by
pipeline to Lithuania can be resumed since
the pipeline is in need of repairs. The
Lithuanian president, Valdas Adamkus, has
proposed that the oil import to Belorussia
could go via Klaipeda’s oil terminal and
then by rail.
Action plan for Norway’s martime industry
ssg-tønsberg. The Norwegian Government
has announced a plan of action for
the maritime industry to be introduced this
spring. The plan only goes some of the way
to improve business operating conditions
for Norwegian ship owners. A big bone of
contention is the Norwegian wealth tax,
which more than anything has forced Nor-
wegian owners abroad. According to minister
of state Frode Berge, the Government
will not abolish the wealth tax, but will
instead propose other measures, which will
“prove equally effective”. Conservative Jan
Tore Sanner says his party wants a tonnage
tax in line with the EU and a removal of
the wealth tax.
NEWS REVIEW
BRIDGE ACROSS NARVA A bottleneck
for the Port of Sillamäe is the bridge
across the River Narva, which marks
the border between Russia and Estonia.
The negotiations on building a new
bridge have been halted. Margus Vähi,
a member of the port’s management
board, told SSG that the new bridge
will be financed with the help of EU
funds, but that this will not happen
unless the two countries can reach an
agreement. The board does not want to
risk having the port’s future development
in the hands of politicians and is
thus considering building the bridge
together with the Russian businessmen.
ORDER RECORD FOR WÄRTSILÄ Last
year, Wärtsilä’s sales increased 27 per
cent to EUR 3.19 billion and its profit
before tax was EUR 447 million. The
inflow of orders was the highest ever
and at the end of last year, the business
area Ship power had engines on order
worth EUR 3.02 billion. Offshore and
LNG tankers accounted for about half
the orders.
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SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • FEBRUARY 23, 2007 47