Einars Repše During this period, he oversaw the introduction of the Latvian rublis, Latvia's temporary transition currency, and the Lats, independent Latvia's new currency. Under Repše, the Bank of Latvia pursued a tight monetary policy, implementing a de facto currency board for the Lats. As a result, the exchange rate of the lat has been stable since the early 1990s till now. The success of the Lats made Repše very popular in Latvia. In 2001, Repše resigned from the Bank of Latvia to return to politics. He founded the New Era Party, a Populist anti-corruption party. After the 2002 elections, Repše became
Baltic (tug) Baltic (tug) The Baltic is a German emergency tow vessel (ETV) commissioned in 2010. The vessel which was built in Spain by Astilleros Armon is owned by Arbeitsgemeinschaft Küstenschutz of Germany, a consortium of tugboat companies. The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development of Germany has chartered the vessel to protect the German coastline. The "Baltic" replaced the tugboat "Fairplay 26" as an ETV and operates from Warnemünde in the western Baltic Sea. She was commissioned on 24 September 2010. The Baltic features a bollard pull of 127 tons and a maximum speed of . In October 2010,