Port of Riga has seen its container sector becoming the largest cargo group of the port after the decline in the handling of energy transit cargo (coal and oil products).
Container throughput has been growing in parallel with the increase in container-related services, noted the Latvian port, which saw SIA “Rīgas Centrālais Termināls” (RCT), a member of the JSC “Riga Port” group, to develop the port’s container repair segment.
“Container repair services are highly standardised, regulated and monitored worldwide, as they are related to the safety of maritime transport. Our company operates in compliance with Lloyd’s Maritime Academy accreditation, which is trusted by container line operators. Containers are repaired to the high-quality standards set by LIoyd’s Maritime Academy. The container repair business is currently growing rapidly. Our customers, the container lines, choose RCT to repair their containers because they know that we will do everything to the best quality and in a short time, and at a lower price than at the big container ports of Western Europe,” said Andris Gabrāns, Commercial Director at RCT.
“Every quality service developed by our entrepreneurs in the Port of Riga contributes to the Port’s competitiveness and positive visibility. At the same time, it creates new jobs and income for port companies, which is important right now when everyone in the port is looking for new business directions and strategies. In addition, giving new life to old containers promotes the circular economy, which is one of the Port of Riga’s strategic development areas,” stressed Ansis Zeltiņš, the Freeport of Riga CEO.
A sea container contains around 40 to 60 different parts that can be replaced during a repair. The most common items are door handles, lifting lashings in the corners of the container, wall metal and floors. “We get the sophisticated components needed to repair reefer containers from the US, Japan and Germany, while the simple parts with little added value come from China. For the container floors, we use only moisture-resistant plywood produced by JSC “Latvijas finieris”, which is highly appreciated by our customers as one of the best materials in the world for this purpose,” pointed out Gabrāns.
Another promising area for RCT’s container repair service is the conversion and adaptation of old containers unsuitable for sea transport to other applications, giving them a second life on land. Containers are converted to individual requirements and become warehouses, garden houses, mobile offices and workshops. Reefer containers are particularly in demand as they can be converted into small, temperature-controlled mobile warehouses.
