STA, 9 January 2020 - Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's only seaport, generated EUR 224.5 million in net sales revenue last year, a 1% uptick compared to the previous year, preliminary data show. Meanwhile, ship-to-ship transshipment dropped by 5% over 2018 to 22.8 million tonnes, the group announced on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Container transshipment stayed level over 2018, while liquid cargo transshipment increased by 12%. On the other hand, bulk cargo transshipment decreased by 17%, vehicle transshipment by 4% and general cargo transshipment by 16%.

Related - Invest in Slovenia: Meet the Companies in the Benchmark Investment Index, the SBI TOP

 Luka Koper said that liquid cargo transshipment was record-high in 2019, mainly due to favourable trends in fuel transport and sufficient terminal capacities.

The second half of 2019 was marked by economic cooling, which affected Luka Koper's operations as well, most notably in goods transshipment. Apart from manufacturing slowdown, the situation was made more precarious by trade wars and political conflicts overseas.

All our stories about Luka Koper are here

STA, 13 November 2019 - The coastal towns of Piran, Izola and Koper were flooded during the night due to heavy rain and a combination of a cyclone, southerly wind and full moon, which caused an exceptionally high tide. According to unofficial information, the sea level reached the second highest point in the last 50 years.

Alarms went off in the coastal towns, whose old city centres were under water. In some parts, the water level was 60 centimetres high. The worst hit was Izola.

Major flooding in Piran, Slovenia this evening associated with intense southerly winds from the cyclone over the Mediterranean and high tide! Notice the person walking in deep water. Video by Bojana Francuz pic.twitter.com/Eu3UkjZ13y

— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) November 12, 2019

According to Koper's tide gauge, the sea level reached 373 centimetres last evening, which the Environment Agency said was a rare phenomenon.

Firefighters were busy all night and their efforts continue as the sea level is expected to rise again this morning, so anti-flooding barriers are being set up.

The Environment Agency expects some 20-40 centimetres of water in the low-lying parts of the cost this morning.

Heavy rain and strong winds caused problems in other parts of the country as well during the night, especially in the north-east and in the west. Rivers may burst their banks today, especially in Slovenian Istria and parts of Primorska.

STA, 11 November 2019 - The Koper District Court sentenced on Monday Marko Matić to a maximum, 30-year prison sentence for the murder of his 75-year-old stepsister and his 83-year-old husband in Krkavče in August 2018. Judge Julijan Glavina said the motive for the brutal and cold-blooded murder was personal gain. The ruling is not final yet.

Matić was found guilty of the double murder, and got 25 years for each of the murders, which translated into a joint 30-year sentence, as the prosecution demanded.

Neither Matić nor his lawyer were present in court today.

During the trial, the prosecution had presented evidence that Matić's family was in dispute with his stepsister's family over land deals.

The murdered couple sold some land to Matić's family ten years ago but did not receive the money for it in full, so a court later annulled the sale. But prior to this, the Matićs transferred some of that land to one of their sons, who used it as collateral for a loan.

Since the son did not pay back the loan, the land was to be seized, and last February even the house of Matić's stepsister was to be auctioned off.

The disputes were being processed in court and police had to intervene between the two families on several occasions, media have reported.

The 71-year-old Matić committed the double murder on 4 August 2018 with a blunt object. He first attacked the 83-year-old, who died at the scene, and then his 75-year-old wife, who later died in hospital. He was seen at the crime scene by a neighbour, whom he urged to call the police. He did not resist the arrest and showed no remorse throughout the trial.

His defence claimed he had acted in self-defence.

STA, 15 October - Yusen Logistics, a Japanese supply chain logistics company, opened on Friday its subsidiary in the coastal town of Koper, thus becoming the first Japanese freight forwarder in Slovenia. The launch is an important step for the port operator Luka Koper as well since it promotes the transport route via Koper.

 The first Japanese logistics subsidiary in Slovenia will also help popularise Slovenia's sole maritime port among Japanese logistics providers, who still prefer the ports in northern Europe.

Yusen Logistics, employing more than 24,000 workers and managing a global network of subsidiaries, has been so far providing services for Slovenia from their Budapest division, said Luka Koper.

The opening was attended by Luka Koper CEO Dimitrij Zadel as well as Takeshi Kondo, chief regional officer of Europe region at Yusen Logistics, and Japanese Ambassador to Slovenia Masaharu Yoshida.

Japan is one of Luka Koper's priority target markets overseas, particularly in terms of containers and vehicles, said the operator.

Last year, Luka Koper transshipped from or to Japan almost half a million tonnes of goods, including about 40,000 vehicles and 27,000 container units.

The operator pointed out that Japanese companies also owned industrial plants in other Asian countries, which transshipped even larger amounts of goods through the Slovenian port, highlighting that the move would help further tap into the potential of the Japanese market.

Luka Koper also drew attention to last year's merger of three Japanese container shipping lines into a single business - the Ocean Network Express (ONE), which ranks sixth in terms of global ranking by vessel capacity.

ONE is not coming to Koper with its own direct shipping line, but it will operate as part of the Intra Mediterranean service, said Luka Koper, adding that setting up a direct commercial maritime link with Japan would definitely vastly increase transshipment business.

Referring to a milestone trade agreement between the EU and Japan which entered into force in February, Luka Koper said that the deal had opened up new possibilities in trade and service exchanges.

Moreover, in the wake of Brexit, Japan, coming up with an alternative to its plants in the UK, could opt for exporting goods, which would enable Luka Koper to capitalise on its own geo-strategic advantage.

Today's opening is another sign that Japanese companies are increasingly interested in the port of Koper. At the start of August, a delegation from Nagoya, the largest Japanese port in terms of transshipment, visited the port, expressing interest in strengthening the economic cooperation.

All our stories on Japan and Slovenia are here

On Saturday, October 12, Open Kitchen will visit the coast for the last time this season. Stalls full of local and foreign delicacies will re-fill the picturesque Carpaccio Square and the friendly Tavern Shadow in Koper. The event, organized by the Open Kitchen team in cooperation with the Municipality of Koper, will start at 11am and last until 9pm.

To ensure that no one on the coast needs to cook at home this Saturday, a colorful selection of tastes and flavors will make sure that nobody goes home hungry or dissatisfied.

At the Turkish Yildiz Han booth, for example, visitors will choose between Turkish delicacies such as kebab on a saber, traditional Turkish burek, sarmas in vine leafs and baklava.

Thai Pink Elephant booth will serve Suki Yaki noodles which will come with a learning lesson on what different levels of “hot” actually mean. Namaste Indian Restaurant stand will offer meditation with chewing yoga practiced on delicious rumali roti rolls. 

For those of sharp sense of aesthetics, a special workshop on how to make something really tasty and beautiful from the simplest things, such as hot dogs will be held by professors from the JEDU Wurst & Dogs team.

Visitors to Stari pisker pub and Guesthouse and Argentino Steakhouse stalls will learn about what a really good piece of meat is and how it should be prepared to get the best out of it.

At the Land of Flavors (Dežela okusov) stall you’ll be able to learn how to eat like an Egyptian and the Chinese garden Restaurant will be stirring the legendary fried noodles.

That mixing of culinary traditions leads to some very tasty results will be proven at the Super hrusta stall, where suckling will be roasted on a Chinese grill then served with sauerkraut and pan fried potatoes.

And for the end of the day, deserts will be served by TWISTER Ice Cream Rolls, Dvor jezeršek and Atelier Karim, and liquids mixed and poured by Experiment, J&B Winehouse and Craft beer.

STA, 4 October 2019 - An officer of the Koper Police Department who was, according to unofficial reports by the newspaper Dnevnik, the head of the district's narcotics task force, has been arrested on charges of drug trafficking. He was sacked and banned from possessing his duty weapon at the end of September and is currently in house arrest.

The officer, arrested on charges of illegal drug production and trade, was put in preventive detention on Sunday evening. Upon appealing against the custody decision, he was put under house arrest today and will remain under it until further developments, his lawyer Monika Mavsar told the STA.

The Koper Police Department said on Monday that the accused was arrested as a result of a covert investigation based on the suspicion of a criminal offence of illegal drug production and trade, including banned substances in sport and ingredients used for producing illegal drugs.

The suspect has been banned from carrying out officer duties during the prosecution case and has been blocked from accessing confidential police data.

Mavsar has told the newspaper Primorske Novice that the confiscated cannabis was not the defendant's and was not meant to be used for trafficking but was meant to ease the defendant's father's medical issues. The father has been put under house arrest as well.

According to Dnevnik, the suspected officer could face up to ten years in prison.

UPDATE: Due to bad weather, Open Kitchen will be cancelled in Ljubljana Koper this week (September 6 and 7, 2019)

Open Kitchen (Odprta kuhna) is a regular Friday event in Ljubljana during the warmer months, giving people the chance to sample the delights of dozens of restaurants in the open air, with a lively atmosphere that brings together locals and visitors from an early lunch to late dinner. This year it’s also visited Celje, Nova Gorica, Ptuj and Novo Mesto, and this Saturday, 7 September, it comes to Koper.

From 11:00 to 21:00 in Carpacciov trg visitors can enjoy a remarkable variety of food and drink, with dishes from Slovenia and beyond, including Turkey, China, Mexico, and Thailand. In addition to the savoury snacks and meals there will also be desserts and drinks, including a wide selection of craft beers and wines.

If you’ve been to another Open Kitchen event then you’ll know the variety offers something for everyone, and that half the fun is walking around and seeing what’s available, the other in eating outside with others, enjoying the sights, sounds and aromas of a lively food market. If you’re in Koper this Saturday, then be sure to take a look and go hungry – you won’t be disappointed.

Related: An interview with Lior Kochavy, co-founder of Open Kitchen

STA, 23 August 2019 - The Koper port placed 80th on this year's list of 900 best connected container ports in the world, published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). The port has been listed the highest among all Adriatic Sea container ports since the first such ranking in 2006.

The first place went to the Shanghai port, while the port of Antwerp was the best in Europe, having been placed 6th in the world.

The Unctad ranks ports according to their liner shipping connectivity index, which takes into account the number and frequency rate of their connections with other ports as well as average and maximum vessel sizes.

The higher the index, the easier it is to access a high-capacity global maritime freight transport system and thus effectively participate in international trade.

"The greater the number of destinations and the higher the frequency of connections, the more options clients have in selecting the most optimal logistics solution," said Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's sole maritime port.

The Adriatic transport route has been making a name for itself in the past decade, with four north-Adriatic ports transshipping a total of 1.12 million container units in 2009. Last year, the figure rose to 2.47 million, said the operator.

The maritime transport world has acknowledged the advantages of southern European ports, including in servicing middle-European markets.

According to the Unctad's list, the port of Koper is on par with northern-Adriatic ports in terms of their connections, but the Slovenian port surpasses its neighbouring ports when it comes to the number of container units each vessel transships on average.

The Koper port has a 40% share of all container transport in north Adriatic Sea and is the biggest terminal in the region. Luka Koper expects to reach a record number of a million container units transshipped this year.

More details on Unctad’s list can be found here

STA, 22 August 2019 - The annual Tartini Festival, dedicated to the Piran-born Italian Baroque composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini, will get under way with a performance by international ensemble Il Terzo Suono at the Piran St. George's Parish Church on Thursday evening.

This year, the international music festival will be held in Piran and Koper until 8 September, with its final performance being hosted in Padua on 12 September.

The opening performance will include musical compositions by maestros such as Antonio Vivaldi, Giuseppe Tartini and Baldassare Galuppi.

Il Terzo Suono will give another performance next week, being joined on stage by Mario Brunello, an Italian cellist who is the first and only Italian so far to have won the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition.

He has worked with numerous acclaimed orchestral conductors and ensembles.

One of the festival's highlights will also be a performance by French pianist Pierre-Laurent Boucharlat, bringing the music of Camille de Saint-Saens and Claude Debussy to Tartini House, the birthplace of the renowned violinist and composer, in Tartini Square.

The popular Italian chamber orchestra, I Solisti Veneti, the festival's regular guest, will perform at the Piran Minorite Monastery.

RELATED: How to Spend Four to 48 Hours in Piran

The orchestra has given more than 6,000 concerts in over 90 countries and has participated in the most acclaimed international festivals.

The monastery will also see a duo performance by Slovenian violinist Lana Trotovšek and Japanese harpsichordist Masumi Yamamoto as well as a performance by the Salzburger Mozart Consort.

The festival, honouring Tartini as well as composers inspired by his art, will also present young talent at Tartini Junior concerts.

More details on the festival can be found here

STA, 21 August 2019 - Two of the four coastal municipalities have had problems with sewage pollution of the sea, an issue which has caught much media attention as a popular beach near Koper had to close for ten days in the midst of the tourist season. Public utilities say it is usually a result of buildings not being properly connected to the sewage system.

An uncontrolled discharge of sewage into the sea spoiled bathing in Žusterna in the Koper municipality at the end of July.

The closure of the Žusterna beach has prompted a group of concerned locals to report the municipal public utility Marjetica Koper to police.

They suspect it of crimes related to environmental pollution, negligence, and failure to prevent risks to public health, according to the paper Primorske Novice.

While Marjetica Koper has found no flaws on the sewage system, it has managed to contain the damage by pumping runoff water to prevent a further spillage in Žusterna.

The results of the checks of the drainage system for storm waters are meanwhile expected within a week, the company has told the STA.

Piran has also had problems with sewage pollution, whereas no problems have been reported from Izola and Ankaran.

According to the director of public utility Okolje Piran, Gašpar Gašpar Mišič, Lucija Hotel was connected to the drainage system, which has already been dealt with.

Another problematic area was around the Faculty for Tourism Studies - Turistica where some homes were connected to the sewage system incorrectly, so faeces spilled into the runoff water system and then further into the sea.

Gašpar Mišič said this area had the same problems in the summer of 2017 as Žusterna this year, but they have been addressed by runoff water pumping.

His company has already called on home owners to check how they are connected to the public sewage system.

The company receives requests for checks from owners or neighbours on a daily basis, and plans to check all connections free of charge.

Several dozen flawed connections have already been discovered and repaired, while there are also some cases where property owners are dragging their feet for years.

"If as part of preventive checks we find buildings which discharge sewage illegally, we'll seal them immediately," he announced.

"Let them take us to court then," he said, admitting he was not sure this would be lawful, but he deems it important bathing is safe and tourism prospers.

An issue are also the homes whose basements have been turned into rooms for tourists, but the owners connected them onto the runoff water system instead of the sewage system.

Gašpar Mišič was rather critical of legislation under which an owner can obtain a permit to use a facility without it being first inspected to meet the standards.