Latvian ports - Freeport of Riga FDC from LATVIA

FDC Name:Latvian ports - Freeport of Riga
Issue Date:2nd SEP'2011

Details:Commencing a new series Ports of Latvia, Latvijas Pasts has issued the stamp Free Port of Riga. The first day cancellation event has take place on September 2 in the Sakta post office in 32 Brīvības Boulevard, Riga,

The face value of Free Port of Riga is LVL 0.60, corresponding to the cost of mailing a regular letter to any country in the world. The print run consists of 100,000 stamps.

The new stamp depicts the modern Riga Port merged with an image of Riga as an international commercial port back in the 17th-18th century. Free Port of Riga is accompanied by a first-day envelope, displaying the port from the side of River Daugava, and a special cancellation with a graphical image of an anchor.

Latvijas Pasts is planning to expand the Ports of Latvia series with at least two additional stamps in the coming years. These will be the first stamps issued by Latvijas Pasts that are dedicated to the work of specific Latvian ports, so the new series could become particularly popular among philatelists and other enthusiasts. The port of capital city Riga has been chosen as the opener of the series due to being the oldest and historically most important port of Latvia.

Today, the Free Port of Riga spans 15 km on both banks of Daugava with 32 stevedoring companies and 35 shipping companies. The overall length of the waterfront is 13,818 m; the maximum draft at the wharf - 12.2 meters. The total handling capacity of the Free Port's terminals reaches 45 million tons per year. Up to 80% of the cargos at the Free Port of Riga are transit shipments to or from the CIS. The port is mainly used for transshipment of containers, timber, coal, fertilizer, chemical and oil products.(Source-Lativa Post)

Nominal (Ls):	0.60
Published	2.9.2011
Designer	Ģirts Grīva
Printed	Baltijas Banknote, Latvijā
Edition	100000

Remark:On 2nd September 2011, the Latvian Post has issued the first stamp of a new series (Other two stamps will be issued in next year) devoted to country's ports. This first stamp (0.60 LVL) is devoted to the oldest and most important port of Latvia, the Free Port of Riga ("Rīgas brīvosta"), the capital.Thanks Juris for sending this FDC on the issue date.