LIEPAJA PORT JURMALA VIRSAITIS IMANTA

[aukepalmhof]

Latvijas Pasts issued a stamp within the series “Latvian Ports”. The current stamp is dedicated to Liepaja Port.
Port of Liepaja is the winter ice-free port on the Baltic Sea’s east coast, Liepaja, Latvian Republic. Containing 80 berths, it is the third largest port in Latvia. The business is focused mainly on the export and transit services. The port of Liepaja belongs to Liepaja Special Economic Zone, which provides free port status of the port. The port began functioning as a commercial port only in 1992, after Russia’s armed forces leave.
Port of Liepaja common hydraulic structure contains jetties, breakwaters, berths, waterways, floating navigational aids, appliances and lights. The port’s water area is managed by the Port Authority, realizing as well vessels traffic operational management, shipping safety control and monitoring functions.
Latvia Post.


This stamp looks to be a mixture of photos. There are three identifiable ships shown. The first is the trawler, JURMALA, the blue vessel in the lower left-hand corner of the stamp. There appears to be about another 5 fishing vessels to the portside of the JURMALA.
The next ship is in front of the yellow and blue tower. This is the twin funnelled Latvian naval vessel, VIRSAITIS – A 53.
The final vessel is to the left of the anchor fluke and is another naval vessel, the Tripartite minesweeper IMANTA - M 04.To the right of the IMANTA is another Tripartite minesweeper but the hull number is obscured by the anchor. On the left of the VIRSAITIS can be seen the mast of a further Tripartite vessel. At present there are five Tripartite minesweepers in the Latvian navy.

JURMALA
Build year: 1992
Builder (*): Sosnovskiy Shipyard
Sosnovka, Russia
Vessel type: Trawler
Gross tonnage: 117 tons
Summer DWT: 30 tons
Length: 27 m
Beam: 7 m
Draught: 3 m
IMO: 9076753
MMSI: 275424000
Callsign: YL2794
In the Baltic almost 400 cases have been recorded where Danish fishermen raised barrels and tanks in their nets, containing yperite (Mustard gas) or shells loaded with hazardous materials.
In the eastern Baltic region, the Latvian trawler JURMALA also caught an aviation bomb containing yperite. Half of the crew had to be taken to hospital.
It is believed that both the Danish and Latvian fishermen's nets caught the chemical weapons which the Soviet Union dropped into the Baltic Sea. Norwegian fishermen have also caught some hazardous chemicals, which shows that both the English and American buried weapons are dangerous.

Sources: http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/pho ... id=1874639. Various web sites.

VIRSAITIS
The VIRSAITIS is the former Norwegian minelayer VALE, named after Odin's son Vale from Norse mythology. Her sistership VIDAR was sold to Lithuania and renamed JOTVINGIS.
VIRSAITIS was donated to Latvia by the Norwegian navy in 2003. The name means Chieftain. In June 2005 she was one of the many naval vessels that participated at the Trafalgar 200 celebrations.

Builder: Mjellem & Karlsen Verft, Bergen
Launched: 1978
Class & type: Vidar-class coastal minelayer / command and support ship
Displacement: 1,673 long tons (1,700 t) full load
Length: 64.8 m (213 ft)
Beam: 12 m (39 ft)
Draught: 4 m (13 ft)
Propulsion: 2 marine diesel engines
2 shafts
4,200 hp (3,100 kW)
Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement: 60
Armament: • 2 × 40 mm (1.6 in) guns
• 2 × triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes
• 300-400 mines
• Mistral SAM launcher
Source: Wikipedia.
The attached image shows VIRSAITIS leaving Portsmouth on 26 May 2005 to join other vessels of The Trafalgar 200 celebrations.

IMANTA
IMANTA (M-04) is the lead ship of the IMANTA class of minehunters for the Latvian Naval Forces. The vessel was formerly HNLMS HARLINGEN (M854), an Alkmaar-class minehunter of the Royal Netherlands Navy built in 1984. ALKMAAR and IMANTA are, respectively, the Dutch and Latvian navies' names of the Tripartite-class of minehunters, developed jointly by France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
HARLINGEN was one of five minehunters sold to Latvia by the Netherlands in 2005 for approximately €11.4 million each. An investigation into possible corruption related to the vessels' acquisition was revealed in August 2009, when it was announced that the vessels were purchased without any instruction manuals or technical documents. It took Latvian officials over a year to acquire the necessary technical materials from France, at the cost of an additional €580,000.
In April 2008 IMANTA was one of the minesweepers taking part in Exercise Joint Warrior.
As of August 2009, IMANTA was in active service with the Latvian Naval Forces and available for NATO operations.
Builder: Van der Giessen de Noord of Ablasserdam in Holland
General Characteristics (In Dutch Service)
Class & type: Tripartite-class minehunter
Displacement: 536 t (528 long tons) empty
605 t (595 long tons) full load
Length: 51.5 m (169 ft)
Beam: 8.96 m (29.4 ft)
Height: 18.5 m (61 ft)
Draught: 3.6 m (12 ft)
Propulsion: 1 × 1370 kW Werkspoor RUB 215 V12 diesel engine
2 × 180 kW ACEC active rudders
1 × HOLEC bow propellor
Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h)
Range: 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Boats & landing
craft carried: 2 × rigid-hulled inflatable boats
1 × PAP 104 ROV
Complement: 4 officers, 15 non-commissioned officers, 17 sailors
Sensors and
processing systems: 1 × DUBM 21B sonar
Armament: 1 × 20 mm modèle F2 gun
Source: Wikipedia.

Latvia 2013 1.39 Euro sg?, scott?

Peter Crichton