The second largest port in Latvia continues to lose cargo that flows from the Baltic states to Russian competitors.
The negative consequences of Latvia’s transit standoff with Russia turned out to be so serious that the Balts were forced to go all-in and are now trying to block the development of the Russian promising port of Ust-Luga, using the EU’s political leverage. A similar conclusion can be reached by reading the material of the BALTNEWS news agency, where, using the example of the disappointing state of affairs in the second port of Latvia in Ventspils, the despair of Latvian port workers was described.
“The cargo turnover of the Port of Ventspils in 2020 decreased by 36.9% compared to 2019,” the publication reports with reference to the port’s information.
At the same time, it is indicated that last year about 12.9 million tons of cargo were handled through this port. At the same time, the growing activity of Russian ports and the negative development of relations with Minsk makes Ventspils suffer additional losses.
As a result, it can be observed that the Balts faced a real prospect of being on the periphery of EU cargo flows. However, even in this situation, they do not lose hope for the return of goods from the Russian Federation. To ensure the former level of profit, the Latvians are forced to resort to extreme measures, literally forcing Russia to return cargo from its ports to the Baltic harbours under the threat of new sanctions.
“Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Port of Ventspils, suggested that the European Union impose environmental duties on Russia for the reorientation of cargo flows from Latvian harbours to its own,” the information agency reports.
At the same time, it is noted that in Ventspils they count on the solidarity of the EU, where, having learned about the current problems of the Balts, they should allegedly “abandon the cargo from Ust-Luga and contribute to the return of the transit of Russian cargo to Latvia”.
Giordano Bruno
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