EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Lithuania, Port, Tourism, Transport

Dovile Ringis, spokeswoman for the port of Klaipeda, told larger freight and passenger ferries will be able to moor in Klaipeda following the elongation of the central pier.

"There are currently three peers in the port of Klaipeda, and they are all similar in length. One of them will be elongated by 50 meters so that we could receive larger ro-pax-type ships," Ringis said.

The Klaipeda State Seaport Authority launched a 1.5 mln euro tender for pier reconstruction in early December.

According to Ringis, DFDS and TT-Line ferries currently moor at the pier which will be elongated to satisfy DFDS's needs as the Danish company plans to buy two new ships that will be too big to moor at the existing piers in Klaipeda.

"Strategically, it’s a very important investment for the port since, under the dominating tendency, ships are getting longer," Ringis said.

Vaidas Klumbys, spokesman for DFDS Seaways, told \ the company plans to acquire two ro-pax-type ships with considerably larger capacity by 2021. "They will be 30 meter-long, therefore, we need a longer pier," he said.

In his words, the existing DFDS ships are capable of carrying a 2.5-km line of vehicles, and the new one will be capable of transporting 4.5 km. And the passenger capacity will grow from 500 to 600. Moreover, the new vessels will be more convenient for long-distance drivers.

Klumbys told earlier the new ferries are under construction by China's Guangzhou Shipyard International, with their total value standing at over 200 million euros. They are due to arrive in 2021.

Currently, DFDS ferries sail between Klaipeda and Sweden's Karlshamno and Denmark's Fredericia. It’s still unclear if the new vessels will operate on the same route. Klumbys told earlier the new ships should service the Klaipeda-Kiel or Klaipeda-Karlsham routes.