Face value of the stamp Free Port of Ventspils, designed by artist Ģirts Grīva, is LVL 0.35 and suits for mailing a regular letter within the Republic of Latvia. The edition is 500,000 copies.
The new stamp depicts the promenade of Ostas Street in Ventspils City, where the industrial daily life of the port converges with the city environment. The first-day cover depicts the work of the port, while the postmark incorporates the logo of the Free Port.
The year 2013 will see the 750th anniversary of the first mention of the Port of Ventpils in writing. Today, the Free Port of Ventspils is able to accommodate the largest vessels in the Baltic Sea, with a maximum depth of 17 meters. Ventspils is the northernmost ice-free port in the Baltic Sea, ensuring uninterrupted operation throughout the winter.
There are currently 21 shipping agencies operating in the Free Port of Ventspils, and cargos are handled by 11 terminals. In 2011, oil products made up 51% of the cargo handled by the port, while coal had a 22% share; the amount of RORO cargo also increased. There are three regular ferry lines connecting the Free Port of Ventspils with Sweden, Germany, and Russia. In the first four months of 2012, the amount of cargo handled by the Free Port of Ventspils increased by 21%, making it the second largest in the Baltic states by cargo volume. In a survey of the influential British newspaper Financial Times, the Free Port of Ventspils ranked fifth among the best free zones in the world in 2010/2011.
Latvijas Pastsis planning to complete the series Ports of Latvia with new additions in future. These are the first stamps issued by Latvijas Pasts dedicated to the work of individual Latvian ports, so the series is particularly popular among philatelists and other enthusiasts. The first stamp in the series, Free Port of Riga, was released in 2011.
I found part of the design of the stamp on the Freeport Ventspils web-site
http://www.ventspils.lv/eng/business_en ... free_port/
The stamp shows us three vessels:
On the foreground the excursion vessel HERCOGS JEKABS.
The red hulled tanker is the EAGLE TUSCON.
The black hulled tanker is the REDINA.
The last two shipsnames were supplied to me by Mrs Inga Levina PR Manager, Freeport of Ventspils Authority. She gives that the photo was taken in 2002-2003 (must be 2003 the EAGLE TUSCON was completed in 2003.)
RODINA:
Built as a tanker under yard No 891 by Namura Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Imari Japan for Kumiai Navigation (Pte.), Singapore.
28 July 1987 keel laid down.
06 November 1987 launched as the BUNGA ANGGEREK.
Tonnage 35,375 grt, 60,959 dwt., dim. 214.78 x 32.6 x 19m., draught 12.6m. length bpp 206m.
Powered by one 6-cyl. Sulzer diesel engine, manufactured by Mitsubishi Sulzer, Japan, 11,757 hp. (8653 kW), one shaft, speed 15 knots.
29 March 1988 completed.
1999 Sold to Redina Maritime Ltd., Malta, renamed REDINA.
2007 Sold to Sachem Shippng Ltd, Bahamas and renamed SACHEM.
2008 Converted in a bulker.
Six holds, total cargo capacity 54,508 m³.
2010 Sold to Abul Khair Shipping, Chittagong, Bangladesh and renamed AMSIR.
2013 In service, same name and owner, IMO No 8705761.
Source: Marine News. http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz Bureau Veritas