The East-West Transit oil terminal in Rēzekne, which was damaged in drone strikes, will cease operations due to employee safety concerns, company representatives said.
The company stated that the damage caused by the drones was not significant and would be covered by insurance. However, it did not disclose the exact amount of losses incurred.
At the same time, because the company cannot guarantee the safety of its employees, the management of East-West Transit has decided to discontinue operations at the Rēzekne oil terminal.
The company declined to provide further comments to the LETA news agency.
As previously reported by LETA,
several unmanned aerial vehicles entered Latvian airspace from Russia early in the morning on the 7th of May this year,
two of which struck the East-West Transit oil terminal in Rēzekne.
At the scene, it was determined that four oil storage tanks had been damaged as a result of external impact, although the tanks did not contain petroleum products at the time.
The outer casing of one of the tanks was smoldering across an area of 30 square meters, but the fire was quickly extinguished. Thermal camera inspections of the fuel storage tanks did not detect elevated temperatures inside them.
It was also previously reported that in October 2023, the Competition Council of Latvia approved the acquisition and management rights of more than 50 assets belonging to East-West Transit and Naples by Estonian company Aqua Marina, the parent company of fuel retailer Kool Latvija. The assets mainly consisted of fuel stations operating under the “Latvijas nafta” brand.
On the 15th of November, 2024, the Riga City Court approved a legal protection process for East-West Transit
and confirmed the related restructuring plan, initially setting a four-year implementation period.
According to information from Firmas.lv, East-West Transit recorded turnover of 119.901 million euros in 2023 and losses of 4.204 million euros. More recent financial data has not been published.
The company was registered in 1996 and has share capital of 3.261 million euros, according to Firmas.lv data. Ownership of East-West Transit is divided between Ivo Vasiļevskis, who holds 88%, and Ringolds Mencens, who owns 12%.
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