Estonia, Legislation, Port, Tourism, Transport

The government is to continue discussing the topic on Thursday, the ministry's spokesman Rasmus Ruuda told BNS on Tuesday evening. He added that half of the sum would come from the government's reserve and half from the ministry's budget.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has been in negotiations with Vainamere Liinid OU since the end of last summer to find a solution for the upcoming summer season, spokespeople for the ministry said.

Vainamere Liinid is offering the ferry Mercandia to serve the route approximately from June 20 to August 20 for 920,000 euros, which includes all costs. Added to that will be a payment per departure, which will be covered with the money earmarked for ferry service in the budget of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication.

The ministry has asked for an assessment of the offer from the management board of OU TS Laevad, ferry subsidiary of the state-owned company Port of Tallinn that is to take over the operation of subsidized ferry routes to Estonia's large western islands, including Saaremaa, in October. The management board of OU TS Laevad has found the offer to be realistic.

It said that, in general, ferries are built to serve specific routes and the market to find a ferry to operate a route on a temporary basis is limited. The shorter the period for which a ferry is chartered, the higher the price, especially during the summer.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication is about to seek payment of the rent of the vessel using money from the government's contingency reserve.

Last summer, when the Saaremaa and Hiiumaa routes were served with two vessels each, ferries were not able to accommodate all the vehicles waiting in the port on 88 days on the Saaremaa route and on 59 days on the Hiiumaa route.

If the third ferry is introduced, the Virtsu-Kuivastu line between the mainland and the Muhu/Saaremaa islands would be served by the ferries Regula, Hiiumaa and Mercandia, and the Rohukula-Heltermaa line between the mainland and Hiiumaa by St Ola and Ionas.