TALLINN - Port of Tallinn management said it expected a major operator to begin working in Muuga Port in the near future, while it was keeping quiet about the possibility of launching a ferry link with Estonia's western islands.
CEO of Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) Mart Tooming told the Baltic News Service that the new operator would handle liquid cargoes.
"We can talk about this in greater detail when everything's firmly in place," he said. "We are guaranteeing the newcomer land, while the firm for its part will build the necessary infrastructure."
In addition, another transit operator is about to enter Muuga, Estonia's main merchant port located just outside Tallinn's city limits, Tooming said.
"We're pleased to state that interest in the Port of Muuga continues," he commented.
As far as the much-discussed ferry connection with the western islands, Tooming and other officials involved in a possible deal refused to comment despite the upcoming October deadline.
Tallinna Sadam and the current ferry operator, Saaremaa Laevakompanii (Saaremaa Shipping Company), have held talks on joint service of the ferry lines.
Tooming said on Aug. 9 that the port hadn't come up with a final agreement on how to arrange the ferry service but would do so by Oct. 1.
"We're working toward finding the best possible economic solution," he said.
The Saaremaa shippers' contract for serving the ferry routes expires in September, and it is the port's duty to run the ferry link from October.
The Port of Tallinn handled 18.5 million tons of goods over the first seven months of the year, an increase of more than 9 percent from the same period a year ago. Liquid- cargo handling grew by 13.1 percent year-on-year to 15.4 million tons.
In July the port's supervisory council gave the go-ahead to the construction of an additional deepwater oil wharf at Muuga that will cost an estimated 259 million kroons (16.5 million euros). An oil quay suited to receive large tankers was completed at the port as an extension of the grain quay in spring.
