Two years of multi-million euro losses has put the Lithuanian Shipping Company on the government's to-see list.

VILNIUS — The government is shaping up to sell off the Lithuanian Shipping Company after it turned in its second annual loss in a row.

The sale is part of a wider movement by the government to raise capital and increase transparency in its companies. The country needs to offload loss-making companies to reduce its budget deficit, which ran at 9.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2009.

The Lithuanian Seamen’s Union and the Maritime Captains Club met with Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius to discuss how workers will be affected by the deal this week. The prime minister set up a working group to consider the situation and will present its findings after three weeks.

The company in 2009 made a pre-tax loss of 28.77 million litai (€8.34 million). In 2008 the company made a net loss of 19.73 million litai (€5.6 million), but was profitable in 2007 when it turned a 30.14 million litai (€8.6 million) profit.

The company is 56.66 percent owned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications and 43.34 percent privately owned. It operates moving a range of different cargo types including bulk, timber, general cargoes as well as containers.