Energy, Latvia, Legislation, Port, Transport

"50% companies working at Ventspils Port are still having problems settling accounts with banks, because banks implement disproportionately strict requirements for these companies, which hinders business," said Purmalis.

At the same time, he also pointed out that during any crisis, people get stronger, and this is the same with the Ventspils Port, which has recently experienced several "tsunamis".

Purmalis noted that the reduction of the volume of cargo handled by the port this year was already planned in advance, because due to political reasons coal cargo handled by the port has significantly decreased.

At the same time, he mentioned that the volume of ro-ro cargo handled by the port has remained at the level of the corresponding period of the previous year, as well as the volume of transshipped oil products has remained at the same level as last year. At the same time, transshipped cargo of metal and agricultural products have decreased, but the handling of transshipped timber has increased.

As reported, U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on December 9 last year imposed sanctions on a number of natural and legal persons in Europe, Asia and Latin America, including on Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs, based on the so-called Magnitsky act. OFAC listed four organizations that belong to or are controlled by Lembergs - Ventspils Freeport Administration, Ventspils Development Agency, Business Development Agency, and the Latvian Transport Business Association. Later OFAC lifted sanctions on the Freeport of Ventspils Administration.

During the first five months of 2020, terminals operating at the northwestern Latvian port of Ventspils reloaded 5.91 million tons of cargo, which is a decrease of 41 percent against the respective period a year ago.

Ventspils is Latvia's second largest port by cargo turnover.