Construction, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Port, Transport

"The reports submitted by the Polish shipyard show that some phases are lagging behind, but the shipyard has thus far given assurances that the deadline of completion has not been put off," TS Laevad CEO Kaido Padar told the paper. "So as to reduce risks, we're working on backup plans in order to ensure the service also in the event one of the ships is not finished on time or some other hitch occurs."

TS Laevad has drawn up five risk scenarios to prepare for the eventuality that the new ferries are not ready on time and the company will have to charter ferries of other shipping companies for one to six months.

"The new managers of the port consider this procurement a priority and know that they can make no concessions on quality because the people's expectations of the new ships are high. If it should happen that some deadlines are postponed or other unforeseen things happen, the port will have to use a plan B, for example by chartering replacement ferries," Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Kristen Michal said.

Of the four ferries under construction for TS Laevad, two are being built in Poland and the other two at the Sefine shipyard in Turkey. The weekly reports from the Turkish shipyard show that the construction of both ships is slightly ahead of schedule and provided that economic conditions do not change deviations are unlikely, Postimees says.