The territory of Riga port is 2,530 ha. with 60 companies, including 30 stevedore companies, operating there.

History

Since ancient times Riga has been a significant crossroads of trade routes. Already before the foundation of the city in 1201, the famous trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” led through the port near to the mouth of the Daugava River. In the 14th and 15th centuries, when the Hanseatic League flourished, Riga become one of its most significant centres. In the 19th century Riga was one of the biggest Baltic Sea ports of Czarist Russia. At the end of the last century there were 90-120 commercial ships in the port every day. The port flourished due to the strengthening of economic ties with several regions of Russia. Large volumes of timber exports passed through Riga.

After World War II the role of Riga in cargo transit grew considerably.

With the development of cargo transport in containers, a modern container terminal was built in Riga in the 1980’s. Today it is the largest in the Baltic region.

Today

The territory of the port of Riga occupies 2530 ha. with 60 companies, including 30 stevedore companies, in operation there. The companies working in the port are mainly involved in the handling of general cargoes, containers, metals, timber, cotton, coal, mineral fertilizers, sugar, grain, oil and oil products, fruit and fish. More than 100 berths with a depth up to 12 m are operated in the port. The port has warehousing capacity of 82.300 square m and open storage capacity of 250,000 square m. Lifting facilities include 10 container cranes with a lifting capacity of 5-40 t, 12 floating cranes with a lifting capacity of 5-100 t, 40 mobile handling equipment units with a lifting capacity up to 25 t.

Alpha Osta company handles fertilizers in Riga port

The Port Authority has worked out a technical project for the widening of the main navigation canal up to 150 m and dredged up to 13.5 m. That will make the port accessible for large Panamax vessels, which will mostly carry general cargoes.

Currently the oil terminal berth is under construction. It will be accessible for tankers up to 20 thousand dwt, with a maximum length of 180 m, width of 22 m, maximum draught of 9.5 m.

As the Port of Riga in severe winters is covered with ice, the Port Authority has purchased an icebreaker VARMA from Finland. She has proved herself already during the winter of 1994, when she had to work at full blast. The thickness of the ice sometimes reached 1 m. During the first months of 1996 VARMA helped 481 vessels through the ice, covering 16,568 nautical miles.

As ro-ro and container transport all over the world continues to develop, the Port of Riga is also active in this sector. At the beginning of the year the shipping lines lead only to European ports, but now they also connect Riga with the USA and Latin America. Previously the cargoes were mainly completed in Rotterdam or Amsterdam before they were shipped across the ocean, but now they are completed in Riga. 36 shipping lines are operating permanently from the port.

The Passenger Terminal in Riga port

The Riga Port Authority has worked actively in order to attract more cargoes to the port. A special regulation has been issued, granting tariff discounts to the companies guaranteeing a certain volume of handling in the port, for example sugar and metal cargoes. In order to facilitate cooperation with the friendship towns of Riga, the Riga Port Board has decided to open a representative office of the Riga Port Authority in the World Trade Centre, Bremen. It will intensify cooperation between the Latvian and German companies operating in the ports and involved in transport.

Future

Last autumn the Council of Latvian Ports confirmed the Development Programme of the Riga Port until 2010. The main task of the Port Authority is to ensure all companies have the most favorable working conditions. The programme plans what kind of businesses might be developed on the territory of the port. Today the port is used rather extensively, there are plenty of free territories, that might be made use of in the near future. The Port Authority is the centre, which coordinates the port operation.

The programme gives detailed prognosis for cargo turnover, Port Authority structure, system of port duties and tariffs, conception of marketing strategy, financial aspects, Port development and environmental protection issues. Long term credit has been granted to the port in order to facilitate its further development. According to the forecast, in 2010 cargo turnover in the port of Riga, under favorable circumstances might reach 17 million tons. The increase of the volumes of cargo shipped through the Riga port depends on transit. The development of the Latvian ports depends on good relations with the east and the west.

The Port of Riga is a reliable partner for your transit business.