RIGA - Two Scandinavian shipping companies could cease routes to Riga if the capital's port doesn't lower its fees and make changes to its itinerary.
The Viking Line shipping company, based in the Aland Islands, said it would cancel seven cruises that its largest ship, the Cinderella, was expected to make to Riga this year, and the Scandinavian company Silja Line has already ceased cruises to the Latvian capital due to preplanned itinerary alterations.
A Viking Line agent wrote a letter to executives at the Riga port asking to know by May 8 as to whether they will return to previous, lower costs. If new inflated fees stay in effect, including the passenger fee, cruises to Riga will be cancelled, said Viking Line Marketing AB executive director Boris Ekman.
Neither Riga Mayor and Port Chairman Gundars Bojars, nor his deputy Dainis Liepins, who is the Transport Ministry's representative on the board, had any knowledge of the letter.
Liepins said the board would meet on May 8 to discuss the issue. Deputy Prime Minster and acting Transport Minister Ainars Slesers, who previously admitted that the port's arguments for multiple fee increases did not look convincing, was also scheduled to attend the meeting.
According to the board's March 29 decision, wharfing fees at the passenger terminal were raised from 0.10 euro to 0.26 euro and passenger fees from 3 euros to 8 euros. Fees for cruise passengers were to be raised from 2 euros to 8 euros.
The port board passed the decision unanimously, arguing that it was the only way to earn money for upgrading the passenger port to meet EU standards. Shipping companies and tourism agencies, however, have warned that such raises could result in cruise ships turning away from Riga.
"These high fees will influence our decision on resuming cruises to Riga in the future," said Silja Line spokesman Tuomas Nylund.
In 2003, the Riga port served 278,000 passengers, a 77.3 percent increase from 2002, though much of this growth was due to the launch of the Rigas Juras Linijas between Stockholm and the Latvian capital.
Over the first four months of this year the number stayed flat year-on-year at 66,621 passengers.
This year the port was expecting around 60 cruise ships carrying some 34,000 passengers, including 14 ships visiting Riga for the first time.
For comparison, Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) announced this week that it was expecting 247 stopovers by cruise ships in 2004. In 2003, 64 ships from 41 different operators dropped anchor at the port on 236 occassions. The average number of visitors climbed from 772 in 2002 to 865 in 2003.
(BNS)
