TALLINN - The Port of Tallinn and Saaremaa Laevakompanii (Saaremaa Shipping Company), the operator of ferries to Estonia's islands, said they were holding talks that could lead to the establishment of a joint venture.
Allan Kiil, a member of the board of the state-owned Port of Tallinn, told a news program last week that the parties wished to cooperate and were working toward an agreement.
He said the negotiations had proceeded far enough for the necessary documents to be signed, or at the very least looked through in the new week.
Kiil also said the agreement was the best that the port company had found, though he refused to divulge details.
According to the TV3 report, Saaremaa Shipping will contribute its vessels, staff and know-how to the new company, and while the Port of Tallinn's contribution was unclear, it would most likely involve the ports of Saarte Liinid (Island Lines) that were recently transferred to the Port of Tallinn, according to the report.
After two failed tenders for operating subsidized ferries between the mainland and the islands, the government decided earlier this year to hand the operator's rights to the state-owned port, which in turn had to find suitable vessels.
The operator's rights of the privately owned Saaremaa Shipping, which has run the island ferries for the past 10 years, are set to expire at the end of September.
Economy Minister Meelis Atonen said he saw no problems in the possible cooperation between the state-owned port and the private shipper.
The port's intention to set up a joint venture with Saaremaa Shipping to operate the ferry lines didn't mean that the government's plan to buy or rent ferries had failed, the minister said on July 12.
Explaining why it was necessary to take the ferry routes from Saaremaa Shipping, Atonen said the service needed better transparency.
