Suspension of manganese ore cargoes does not make a big dent in overall port operations - head of Riga Freeport

RIGA - The suspension of manganese ore cargoes does not cause a major disruption to the overall operation of the Port of Riga, said Sandis Steins, Chairman of the Board of the Freeport of Riga, in an interview with LETA.

Commenting on the European Union's ban on transhipment of manganese ore, Steins stressed that the last manganese ore cargoes have left the Port of Riga and no new ones are planned. "This is over," he noted.

The volume of these cargoes in transit last year was around half a million tons, which is nothing considerable and does not have a significant impact on the port's overall operations, Steins explained.

The Freeport of Riga head also explained that the geopolitical situation in the port has had the biggest impact on coal, fuel and petroleum products, and other energy cargoes, which have seen the biggest drops, so they have to be compensated by something else.

"If we look at the rest of the cargo, which is timber, agricultural cargo, container cargo, it is growing year by year," said the Chairman of the Board of the Freeport of Riga.

Steins added that the Port of Riga sees good dynamics for agricultural cargo as well as container cargo, pointing out that last year container cargo reached a record high and this year it continues to grow, while timber cargo also continues to grow, and in this segment the Port of Riga is a leader in the Baltic Sea region.

"So we see the potential for further growth, because where things are going well, we can attract additional cargo, and that is more promising than trying to start something completely new," stressed Steins.

Commenting on the activity of stevedores in the Port of Riga, he noted that there are 35 stevedores working in the Port of Riga, of which four are inactive and six have seen a noticeable decrease in cargo. "The others are fighting for their cargo and so the work is going on and each company has to think of alternatives," he said.

Steins also said that the stevedores had counted on a reduction in Russian transit cargo, but they had hardly counted on such a rapid and large change due to the war. "Probably not. But the challenges encourage us to look for new solutions," said the Freeport of Riga head.