Baltic Container Terminal – Overview
www.bct.lv
The leading container facility in the Baltic States
Mariner recognised the potential that a seaport container terminal in Riga represented back in 1996. In January 1999 Mariner acquired the full shareholding interest in Baltic Container Terminal (BCT), building on its minority shareholding. Since then, Mariner has continually sought to enhance what has become the largest and fastest-growing container handling facility in the region.
Riga has other advantages too. It is the largest city in the Baltic region. The region represents a road and rail infrastructure that is central to trade into and out of the Baltic States, the Russian hinterland and northern Europe. And because liberal legislation and a strict monetary policy have been implemented throughout Latvia, the Riga region has become an attractive focus for foreign investment.
Mariner has a proven track record with shipping lines and its other clients for the quality of its work as well as delivering industry standards in productivity, safety and client service at BCT. Key to BCT’s emergence as a major player in Riga’s port management is its focus on innovation, efficiency and productivity through its leadership in IT development. Mariner continually invests in its IT and logistics infrastructure as well as programmes to build a competitive response to the ever-changing dynamics of world trade and the container shipping industry. Now, BCT has a comprehensive range of facilities and services to offer shipping lines and other clients.
Besides owning all the movable assets of the terminal required to efficiently handle containers, BCT features a state-of-the-art container-tracking system, NAVIS N4 , that is proven in the efficient running of Mariner’s integrated terminal management operations for its customers.
The BCT terminal specifications include:
• 450 metres of quay with 12.5m alongside depth
• 570,000 square meters of land including 32,000 square meters of warehousing
• All necessary container handling equipment including 5 ship-to-shore quay cranes, 6 RMGs (4 on the yard and 2 on the rails) and 8 reach stackers
• Over 500 reefer plugs
• ISPS certification
• Automated rail, gate and vessel systems
The Freeport of Riga is a regional port that services cargo vessels operating in the Baltic region, particularly in trade with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Mariner’s BCT covers 57 hectares on an island at the mouth of the river Daugava with favourable navigation at the terminal all year round with no tide to influence its 24/7 operation. The terminal enjoys optimum connectivity by rail and road to the major cities of the four countries that border Latvia: Russia, Estonia, Lithuania and Belarus.