Estonia has fined the owner of delayed ferry newbuildings constructed to serve publicly-funded routes.
The Port of Tallinn’s subsidiary TS Laevad will pay EUR 400,000 ($426,000) after missing a 1 October deadline to introduce the 150-passenger vessels between western islands and the mainland, the BNS news agency said.
The owner can in turn claim compensation from the yards in Turkey and Poland that built the ships, the government said.
"One new ferry has arrived...and the next one will start the journey within a few days, but the carrier as a contractual partner, ie TS Laevad, is responsible for fulfilling the contract,” said economy and infrastructure minister Kadri Simsom.
“The failure to put the ferries into operation on time entails a penalty."
The state-owned port company signed deals in 2014 with Sefine Shipyard of Turkey and Remontowa Shipbuilding of Poland.
It paid EUR 68.8m for the two in Poland and EUR 51.3m for the other pair.
