Estonia. AS Tallinna Sadam

The loan has been provided for the acquisition of the icebreaking vessel “Botnica”, built in Finland in 1998. The acquisition was made in October 2012. The purchase price of the new icebreaker totals EUR 50 million, of which NIB is financing 50%. “Botnica” is available for use in all Estonian ports on the coast of the Gulf of Finland and for charter contracts in summer and autumn.

“Botnica” is designed as a multipurpose vessel of unrestricted service. In winter time, it works as an icebreaker in the Baltic Sea area and, in the open-water period, it serves as an offshore construction vessel worldwide.

AS Tallinna Sadam (the Port of Tallinn) is a fully state-owned company that owns and operates five seaports in Estonia, in the Old City of Tallinn (mainly for passenger traffic), Muuga, Paldiski South, Paljasaare (all mainly cargo) and Saaremaa (mainly cruise ships).

Competitiveness: The charter contract with the Estonian Maritime Association (EMA) implies a 5% increase in sales of Tallinna Sadam. The vessel can also be used for other purposes, such as offshore charter projects, and is in compliance with the new sulphur oxide emission standards in the Baltic Sea area effective as of 1 January 2015. Since the availability of ice-breaking services and mobilisation speed of the service are critical to port operations, the project should improve the reliability and quality of the services of Estonia’s ports. As for the wider impacts, the icebreaker will assist vessels entering and leaving the main ports of Estonia. The area requires two icebreakers to secure efficient port operations and ice-free routes. Previously, the EMA used a 50-year-old icebreaker and chartered an additional icebreaker from external providers. This model entailed some risks, because the reliability of the older icebreaker has been low and the EMA has had difficulties in finding icebreakers available for charter from service providers. These considerations imply that the project will enhance the security of supply in ice-breaking services, which are of crucial importance to the region’s logistical chain.

Environment: The project is expected to have limited environmental impacts as the project does not involve any construction or decommissioning. The procured icebreaker has been in use before the project and no major changes are planned to be performed to the vessel.

The environmental issues of the project are limited and related to the impacts from operating the icebreaker. The icebreaker is operated in Estonia during the ice-breaking season and is planned to be operated for offshore work off-season. It is reported that black and grey waters are discharged at port or to special-purpose tankers at all times.

The sulphur content of marine fuels in the Baltic Sea will be limited to 0.1% as of 1 January 2015. It is reported that the icebreaker uses marine diesel oil that complies with this requirement. The annual fuel consumption depends on, for example, the duties of the ship and on the weather conditions and cannot therefore be estimated in advance.