Mariner Company Ltd, owned by the former boss of Malta Freeport, Marin Hili, is close to acquiring the full ownership of a freeport terminal in Gdansk.

Gdansk is the main seaport in Poland and a major player in the Baltic maritime industry .

Times of Malta is informed that, following a call for the privatisation of Gdansk Cargo Logistics SA last March, owned by the Port of Gdansk Authority, the Maltese company was shortlisted as preferred bidder to acquire the shares of the Polish company.

Mariner will now be invited to the final negotiations to conclude a binding bid.

Port of Gdansk Cargo is the sole operator of the Gdansk container terminal and the port’s free zone.

It conducts handling operations over an area of 90 hectares in eight quays and focuses mainly on handling general cargo, including containerized and bulk goods.

Gdansk last year handled cargo worth €40 billion or half of Poland’s total imports.

The port is connected to many of the commercial hubs in the region with direct and frequent access to Finland, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Russia and the UK. Main shipping lines already operate to it.

A spokesman for Mariner said the acquisition of Gdansk was another important step for the company to keep a strong presence in the Baltic region.

Mariner already operates Riga’s main container terminal in Latvia and is investing about €20 million in the upgrading of facilities there.

In recent years, Mariner made major inroads in the container transhipment business in Europe and is also the owner and operator of a Freeport terminal in Venice, Italy.

The company is involved in the running of the Durres Freeport in Albania and was recently named as preferred operator of the port of Rosyth, in Scotland.