The ship ROYAL CLIPPER sailing under the flag of Malta marked the opening of this year’s cruise season at Port of Varna.  ROYAL CLIPPER is a 134-meter sailing ship with a steel hull listed in Guinness World Record as the largest square-rigged ship in service, with 5202 square metres of sail area. 

The magnificent giant was berthed at Varna Passenger Terminal today.  The visit coincided with the celebration of the 110^th anniversary of Varna Port inauguration. 


ROYAL CLIPPER is the first sailing ship calling at Port of Varna before the start of Tall Ships Regatta this year.  Over 20 sailing vessels and 500,000 guests are expected to be welcomed at this major event. 

The unique vessel was designed by Polish naval architect Zygmunt Choren for the Sweden-based company Star Clippers.  The ship’s interior is completed in Mediterranean style.  The passengers enjoy luxury and comfort during the cruise.  More than 150 passengers are arriving on this sailing palace in Varna.  The five-masted vessel is expected again at Varna Passenger Terminal early next month.  Port of Varna EAD is pursuing an active policy of attracting passenger traffic during the season.

 

A new 144-ton mobile harbour crane was christened and commissioned at Port of Varna EAD.  The official ceremony at Varna West Port Terminal was attended by the Minister of Transport, IT and Communications Mr. Ivailo Moskovski and senior management of Port of Varna EAD: the Chairman of Board of Directors Mr. Dimitar Atanasov and the Executive Director Mr. Petar Seferov, and also by Varna District Governor Mr. Stoyan Pasev, the Mayor of Devnya Mr. Svilen Shitov and by many guests and port employees.  A “godmother” of the port’s new acquisition became Mrs. Dilyana Mitkova (32), employee of Port of Varna EAD for 7 years.  According to the naval tradition, she broke a bottle of champagne over the crane’s hull, and called the crane by the name of Iatrus – an ancient Thracian deity holding the sea storms in submission.  The “godmother” wished long years of service of the crane with thousands of successful loading/discharging operations and then expressed the ports staff’s acknowledgments to the company management for their long term policy of modernization and improvement of the port facilities and equipment. 


The investment in purchasing new mobile harbour crane amounts to EUR 3.1 million.  The crane was carried by sea onboard a super modern heavy-lift vessel, so that no dismantling of the crane was necessary.  The sophisticated transport-engineering operation was completed in two days only.  This crane is the first of the type in Bulgaria and it will enhance substantially technical capabilities of Varna Port.  It is expected to boost the efficiency and speed of container handling.  The new crane will also improve and optimize the utilization of technical equipment for grain handling at Varna West Port Terminal.  The 144-ton crane will handle also heavy lifts and out-of-gauge, making the port more attractive for this traffic, which is one of the main goals of the port management.

Iatrus has a weight of 455 tons and it is powered by a latest generation diesel engine of 670 kW.  The crane has a length of 20.7m, the length of supporting base is 13.5m and the boom length is 55m.  Iatrus has a max height of 35.9m (without the boom).  The crane can lift loads at max height 45m.

Twenty three students of California Maritime Academy visited Port of Varna EAD.  The students at one of the world’s most eminent marine academies had the opportunity to visit the Bulgarian Naval Academy “Nikola Vaptsarov” and then were welcomed in the largest Bulgarian port. 

The young people studying Port Management, Management of Sea Transportation and Political Science were given a presentation of port’s history and operations and port development projects.  The students took an interest in cargo handling process watching the operations at Varna East Port Terminal.  The Director of Terminal Mr. Lyubomir Dobrev presented the port’s technical facilities, and the prospective managers in the US maritime industry could ask questions and see in practice the lessons learned in the classroom. 

“The questions asked by our guests were mostly related to the type of our cargo traffic, the equipment used for cargo handling and specific management issues for the ports in Republic of Bulgaria,” commented Mr. Lyubomir Dobrev. 

The group of 23 students, guided by 11 trainees of “Nikola Vaptsarov” Naval Academy, is making a tour of Europe, and Port of Varna EAD is among the firstly visited European ports.  The visitors were greatly impressed by the excellent arrangement for serving the passenger traffic at Varna Passenger Terminal and the surrounding area, and also by the intensive grain export which was in progress in Varna East Terminal at that moment. 

At the Bulgarian port, the students of California Maritime Academy were watching for the first time collaboration between sea and rail transport modes when discharging one of the vessels on the terminal.  “I noted particularly the students’ questions concerning preservation of environment in ports and shipping in general, which apparently is an important subject in the course of their studies,” said Mr. Dobrev, adding that the guests had been positively impressed by the policies and goals of Port of Varna EAD regarding quality management, labour safety and environment.

When visiting the City of Varna, the students have seen a number of historical and cultural sites, some of which in direct relation with development of the modern Port of Varna celebrating its 110^th anniversary on the 18^th of May.

Dear colleagues,

And in the complicated times for the global and regional economy, "Port of Varna" EAD finds its path to long-term development, and like every birthday boy, we wish him never to lose the direction of his path, for which we will navigate him in the most precise way.
Dear colleagues,
I wish you and all your loved ones unbreakable health in a personal sense, as well as inspiration, perseverance and purposefulness in the work aspect, and to us as a guide - that our "compass" always points to the most correct decisions for you and the Port of Varna .

Happy holiday! ⚓

Ivaylo Gavrailov
CEO
Port of Varna EAD