Government Gifts Liepāja the Old Rusty Namejs - RTU No Longer Wants to Pay for Scrap Metal Storage

The government has decided to hand over the ship 'Namejs' to Liepāja, which is currently slowly rusting away in RTU's possession and which even the university no longer knows what to do with. The ship, which once proudly cut through waves as a German fleet minesweeper, is now mainly searching for repair sponsors.

'I've been saying for ages that this ship would be good for a museum,' says Liepāja resident Jānis, who has seen the 'Namejs' by the Maritime College every day. 'Students haven't had anything to learn there for ages - all the buttons and levers have long since rusted.' RTU honestly admits that the ship's technical condition is at a 'low level' and unsuitable for safe operation, but Liepāja municipality looks at it with different eyes.

The municipality plans to create a Latvian Naval Forces history museum, which will definitely surpass Riga's offerings in military history. 'Riga only has dry land and ponds, but we'll have a real warship!' proudly declares a municipality representative. The ship is only certified as seaworthy as a stationary vessel, but in Liepāja that doesn't bother anyone - the main thing is that it's ours.

The government has imposed one condition - if Liepāja can no longer maintain the museum, the ship must be returned to the state without compensation. But what could possibly go wrong with a 60-year-old rusty ship that already requires constant investment? Liepāja never lacks optimism, because here even the beach in winter is more beautiful than Riga in summer.