Ventspils News

Stena Line announced on Tuesday that it has acquired the operations of the ferry and RoRo terminals in the Port of Ventspils, Latvia, representing the latest in a range of investments in the Baltic region, including the addition of upgraded ferries and new ferry routes.The acquisition in Latvia is the latest among several moves to support Stena Line’s long-term expansion in the growing Baltic Sea region. Stena Line has operated the route between Ventspils and Nynäshamn, Sweden…

The European Union's full embargo of Russian oil products came into effect on Feb. 5, but data from traders and Refinitiv show that the bulk of Russia's fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) is already being shipped to other regions, mostly in Asia.In January, less than 5% of Russian fuel oil and VGO was shipped to EU countries, including some 100,000 tonnes to Agioi Theodoroi in Greece, about 80,000 tonnes to the Latvian port of Ventspils and 30,000 tonnes - to the Italian port of Augusta."No need to say…

A ferry was back in the Swedish port of Nynashamn on Tuesday after a fire on the car deck temporarily knocked out its power, the Swedish Coast Guard said in a statement. The fire in a refrigerated container started at mid-day on Monday north of the island of Gotland as the Stena Scandica was heading to Ventspils in Latvia from Nynashamn. The fire was put out on Monday afternoon. No injuries were reported among the 241 passengers and 58 crew aboard, the Swedish Maritime Administration said.Suffering a power failure after the fire…

A fire has broken out on board a car ferry carrying 300 people off Sweden's coast, Swedish authorities said.The ferry is the 222-meter RoPax Stena Scandica, which operates on the Baltic Sea between Nynäshamn, Sweden and Ventspils, Latvia, with a capacity of 970 passengers.The fire reportedly started in a container on the car deck while the ferry was traveling from Latvia to Sweden.The blaze has been contained, though some smoke can still be seen rising from the vessel, according to local media. The extent of the damage is unknown, and no injuries have been reported.Stena Scandica is said to be sailing under its own power, and there are no plans to evacuate the ship, the Swedish Maritime Administration said.

Swedish ferry company Stena Line's new ferry Stena Scandica arrived in the port of Nynäshamn in Sweden this morning when it completed its overnight maiden voyage from Ventspils, Latvia.Stena Scandica is the first of two new large and modern ferries on the route between Ventspils and Nynäshamn in Sweden this year. The vessel adds another 70%  more cabins and 30% more freight capacity compared to the existing vessels and offers an attractive alternative way to travel on the Baltic Sea…

Stena Line is strengthening its position and expanding services in the Baltic Sea Region, by deploying two new ferries on the route between Ventspils in Latvia and Nynäshamn in Sweden this year. The first of the two vessels, Stena Scandica -- at 222-m long it is 30% larger than the existing vessels on the route -- has entered Ventspils port on June 29, 2021, to get ready for its maiden voyage on the route. The vessel adds another 70% cabin capacity compared to the existing vessels…

Swedish ferry firm Stena Line has taken delivery of its RoPax ferry, Stena Scandica, the first of two Visentini vessels being lengthened and modernized by Stena RoRo at the Sedef Shipbuilding in Tuzla, Turkey. The Stena Scandica ferry will start operating on the Stena Lines route between Nynäshamn in Sweden and Ventspils in Latvia at the beginning of July.The conversion and lengthening of Stena Scandica (ex Stena Lagan) and sister vessel Stena Baltica (ex Stena Mersey) is managed by Stena RoRo at the Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey.The two vessels are lengthened with a 36-meter mid-section.

The 186-meter Visentini RoPax vessel Stena Livia will initially join sister vessel Stena Flavia on the Nynäshamn-Ventspils route from mid-April, Stena Line announced. Later this year the pair will replace the existing tonnage on the ferry route between Travemünde and Liepaja, adding 40% freight capacity and shorten the crossing time substantially.During 2021 Stena Line is expanding its Baltic Sea operations with modern and large RoPax vessels being added to the two ferry routes from Latvia to Sweden and Germany.

Sweden-headquartered ferry operator Stena Line on Thursday revealed plans to replace two vessels currently operating on its Nynäshamn-Ventspils route with the modernized and lengthened RoPax ferries Stena Lagan and Stena Mersey.Stena Line said the vessels switch will increase freight capacity by almost a third, and improve the onboard experience for travelers on the Baltic Sea route.Stena Line, which operates 18 ferry routes in Europe, including three across the Baltic Sea, acquired the ferry route between Nynäshamn in Sweden and Ventspils in Latvia in 2012.

Sanmar Shipyards reports it has delivered another new tug to Latvia on schedule, to join the AS PKL Flote fleet in the port of Ventspils.The latest delivery is a Robert Allan Ltd. designed Ramparts 2200 Class 50t BP ASD tug, the eighth of the series from Sanmar. Originally named Sirapinar VIII, AS PKL Flote has renamed her Altair. Sanmar is currently building the 18th sister of the series.Sergejs Odincovs, Chairman of the AS PKL Flote, said, “Sanmar Shipyards’ tugboat series Sirapinar was chosen…

The harbor towage company in Finland and Estonia Alfons Håkans has successfully refloated the barge Trias on late Sunday evening 19 January 2020. The barge was aground on protected Natura 2000 area on Latvian shore.Estonian Raduga Shipping’s barge Trias (overall length 101 m. & breadth 19 m.) was under tow when the towline parted during poor weather on 31 December 2019. Consequently, the barge drifted aground near Ventspils, Latvia.Preparations for salvage, led by Salvage Master Pekka Arasola, started immediately on 5 January 2020 after Alfons Håkans was contracted to salve the barge. Tugs Thor and Poseidon were quickly mobilized to the area. Yet heavy swell slowed down the process."Because of temperate winter, weather on Baltic Sea has been extremely windy.

Nigeria's push to keep its citizens stocked with fuel is drawing close to a million tonnes a month of gasoline from Europe - including now on a rare Suezmax vessel booked by Vitol. The country is working overtime to replenish its tanks after shortages and queues popped up across the nation of more than 180 million in early December - sparking a scramble for state oil company NNPC. The restocking comes as gasoline demand in other regions was waning in winter, and has helped boost fuel and refining margins in Europe just as the continent's refineries prepare to shut for seasonal maintenance. The Vitol-booked, 115,000-tonne cargo aboard the newly built Sea Icon is sailing to West Africa from the Latvian port of Ventspils, according to Reuters ship tracking and trading sources.

Russia plans to fully halt exports of oil products from other than Russian ports on the Baltic Sea by 2018, the head of oil pipeline monopoly Nikolai Tokarev told President Vladimir Putin on Monday.   Russia will increase the shipments via its own ports instead, Tokarev said, according to a transcript of the meeting published on the Kremlin website.   Russia has been gradually cutting oil and oil products exports via foreign ports on the Baltic Sea, such as Latvia's Ventspils as it has built its own shipments facilities in the ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Lidia Kelly)

Terminals in the Port of Ventspils handled a total of 9 million tons of cargo in January-May 2016 or by 23.98% less than in the same period in 2015. The transit of oil products and coal had declined steeply year-on-year, affecting the total cargo turnover at Ventspils. The cargo turnover of Ventspils Nafta Terminals contracted by 1.5 million tons or 27% to less than half of the terminal's capacity, and the cargo turnover of Baltic Coal Terminal was down 609,000 tons or 45% compared to January-May 2015, also to less than half of the terminal's capacity. Although the Ventspils port has to reckon with a significant reduction of its income due to performance of certain terminals…

On 19 May, Ziemelblazma Culture Palace in Riga, the Latvian capital was the venue for a meeting between numerous representatives of the Ports of Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils, Lübeck, Kiel and Hamburg. This was hosted by the three Latvian ports and Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM). For Marina Basso Michael, Head of Market Development for the Baltic Region and Eastern Europe for HHM, and Axel Mattern, CEO of HHM, Riga was an excellent place to hold the first “German-Latvian Maritime Forum”. The two HHM representatives pointed out that current topics and challenges on the overall economic development of the Baltic region closely link all the ports participating in the event.

Europe is expected to receive its largest-ever diesel cargo after French refiner Total booked a super tanker to sail to the region even as it faces brimming storage tanks and wilting demand. Total has chartered the newly-built very large crude carrier (VLCC) tanker Alice to ship 270,000 tonnes of diesel, three times the typical cargo size on the route, from Asia to the port of Antwerp in Belgium, according to shipping data and Reuters ship tracking. A cargo of this size is bound to put more pressure on Europe's diesel prices in a market already facing an influx of imports in the coming weeks from all corners of the world. Euronav-owned…

Marine petroleum transportation specialist Latvian Shipping Company (LSC) hopes to raise EUR 80 million via an initial public offering (IPO) on the Riga Stock Exchange in the first half of 2016. The Supervisory Council of LSC has supported the Management Board’s proposal to raise the equity capital in the IPO. LSC is looking to double its share capital and raise equity of EUR 80mn in order to pay down existing debts due in 2016 and 2017. The LSC Management Board believes a share capital raising would achieve this and place the company in a stronger position. The IPO is subject to approval by a shareholders meeting planned for April 2016. A successful float would be the first on the Latvian bourse in over a decade.

Latvian Shipping Company (LSC) owners of 19 medium-size tankships reports a profit in Q1 2013. LSC and its affiliates made a profit of US$ 77,000 despite an impairment charge of US$ 1.7-million against the decrease of the fleet value. Though in absolute terms the profit is merely symbolic, it is nevertheless a sign of major progress; it is the first time since 2008 when the LSC Group reports a positive financial result. Just to compare – the LSC Group closed Q1 of 2012 with a loss of US$ 17.77-million. Simon Blaydes, Chairman of LSC Management Board, explains: "Latvian Shipping Company is prudently optimistic about the prospects of the petroleum product tanker market, because charter rates have been increasing progressively.

The vessel is due to be delivered to PKL Flote in the summer of 2013. It is planned to operate the new tugboat in Riga port, where PKL Flote already employs a vessel of the same type – Castor – which has already proved itself very well in Riga Port. PKL intends to keep modernizing its fleet. Twelve new tugboats have been constructed over the past several years, operating in Estonia, Finland and Latvia (Ventspils). The new tugboat is designed as an icebreaking class ARC4, which allows it to operate in areas with one-meter-thick ice, and in addition the tugboat is to be equipped with a powerful external fire-fighting system. It will also be possible for PKL Flote to use the vessel to provide escort tugboat services…

's coast guard on Monday started evacuating a stranded cruise ship with nearly 1,000 people on board after tugboats failed to pull the luxury liner off an underwater sand bank in the . The 651 passengers, most of them elderly Germans, were being transferred from the Mona Lisa onto two naval ships, which would take them to Ventspils, a port city in northwestern , the coast guard said. The passengers were descending ladders from the liner to the naval ship, it said. Rescuers also planned to remove most of the 327 crew members and six crew interns from the ship, which ran aground early Sunday about 10 miles off Latvia's coast. Source:  Business Week

Oceanwide announced a new management structure for Oceanwide Netherlands, Oceanwide Baltics and Oceanwide Offshore Services. The new structure is effective immediately. Oceanwide Netherlands has appointed Jan Hessel Dijkstra as its new Managing Director. Jan Hessel has been with Oceanwide for five years in the position of branch manager and sales manager and has solid experience within the employment sector. He is assisted by Sales Manager Adje Burgers and five dedicated account managers. Oceanwide Netherlands has offices in Vlissingen, Hoogvliet and Harlingen, the Netherlands. Oceanwide Baltics’ new Managing Director is Galina Raspopova. Galina has long background in shipping and has been working for Ventspils Port Authorities and Riga Shipping.

Multraship Salvage has completed another salvage of a vessel grounded in the shallows of the Danish Great Belt. The Bulgarian-flag 38,511 dwt bulker Petimata OT RMS grounded in Danish waters on July 9, while carrying fertiliser from Ventspils to Santos. Multraship has now completed the discharge of enough of the vessel’s cargo and bunkers, and after refloating moved the vessel to the Danish port of Kalundborg where it has been inspected and reloaded. The successful operation follows the recent salvage in the same area of the 38…

Stolt Offshore reported it has successfully completed the Eugene Island 275A platform salvage project for Total E&P USA, INC., in what is described as the first platform salvage using only mechanical cutting devices. The platform was located on OCS-G-0988, some 70 miles off the Louisiana coast in 180 ft. of water. "Because of environmental and safety objectives, Total E&P USA asked Stolt to conduct the salvage operation without an arc being struck under water, using remotely operated tools as much as possible," said Allan Palmer, Stolt's regional manager of regional projects and operations in Houston. Stolt Offshore located heavy duty cutting tools that could be modified or redesigned to be used remotely underwater. Iberia, La..