SSG No 20 - Shipgaz

Ventspils Nafta Terminals. Even before
that about a quarter of oil and oil products
were imported by sea. In cooperation with
Belarus, the Vitol Group sees the opportunity
to reverse the direction of operation of
the Ventspils–Novopolotsk oil pipeline in
order to transport the crude oil unloaded
from ships to Belarus. Heavy fuel oil will
be available besides crude oil, diesel fuel
and petrol.
Finally, containers have reached the
Noord Natie Ventspils Terminals. Last
year, the level of 14,200 TEU was reached
in cooperation with Samskip’s shipping
line and in the first nine months of this
year a level of 13,000 TEU has been
reached. The quantity of ro-ro cargo rose
by 2.5 times with the help of Scandlines
shipping lines.
Aivar Lembergs, the Mayor of Ventspils
and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board
of the Freeport of Ventspils, has been placed
under house arrest. He has been charged
with bribery and abuse of power, and the
investigation of the matter is in process.
The mayor and other persons arrested in
connection with the criminal matter were
connected with several port operators.
The operators of the Freeport of Riga
handle more and more containers. A container
train has been running to Moscow
since August, carrying Chinese goods in
transit. The owners of Russian corporation
National Container Company are planning
to construct a container terminal with
a capacity of up to two million TEU, in
addition to the terminals which are currently
handling less than 200,000 TEU per
year.
Coal has a big share
The share of coal in the cargo turnover
of the Port of Riga is 43 per cent and the
quantity of coal has not decreased noticeably.
Last year, over ten million tons of it
was loaded, but in the first nine months
of this year the quantity of dry bulk was
7.6 per cent lower than in the same period
last year. The quantity of ro-ro cargo has
increased owing to shipping lines.
The Freeport of Riga got rid of the Baltic
Kristina, which had been laid up for 18
months. The ferry was sold to Germany
and the Freeport Authority could sum up
the losses.
In Liepaja the ro-ro cargo, lost due to
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”Vacancies in shipping”
PORTS & MARITIME LOGISTICS
Scandlines leaving, was replaced by container
business. Kurshiu Linija decided to
choose Liepaja for the shipping line coming
from Western Europe twice a week and
it remained so even after Containerships
purchased this Lithuanian operator.
In the beginning of October, Containerships
launched a container train from
Liepaja to Moscow, while containers continue
to be sent to St Petersburg by sea.
It is too early to expect any results,
because it may happen that the idea, which
seems expedient when looking at the map,
may in reality get tangled. If all goes well,
Containerships will have the train run
twice a week next year.
Terrabalt re-qualified as a container operator
and since there is room for a container
terminal in the Port of Liepaja, it may
reach a capacity of up to 120,000 TEU in
the future. The present level of 5,708 TEU
is just the start.
The cargo turnover of the Port of Liepaja
has remained around four million tons in
recent years, but cheaper goods are being
gradually replaced by more expensive
ones.
madli vitismann
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SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • OCTOBER 26, 2007 57