Around 50 000 tons of raw materials, supplies for Kremikovtzi steelworks, were impounded in storehouses in the Danube port of Lom, Borislav Mihov, executive director of the port, said.

The goods had been impounded be because suppliers had not been paid, Bulgarian news agency BTA said.

In January 2008, Kremikovtzi shipped only 20 000 tones of raw materials. The reduced amount of supplies for the mill was responsible for part of the decrease in cargo turnover of the port, which dropped by 40 000 tons in total on-the-year.

Bad weather, which kept a number of cargo vessels from reaching the port, was another reason for the decrease in cargo turnover, Mihov said.

Lom Port is the second biggest Bulgarian port at the Danube River.

In 2007, shipments for Kremikovtzi made up 40 to 45 per cent of the overall cargo turnover of the port.

January 2008 is a tough month for Kremikovtzi with its workers protesting almost daily against unpaid salaries and numerous speculations about the sale of the mill, investor.bg said.