The number of guests who travelled in 2022 between Eckerö and Grisslehamn is much higher than the year before, and is about 82% of the passenger volume in pre-covid year 2019.
From 1 July 2022, all entry restrictions from Sweden to Åland were also removed, which meant that many Swedes again booked Åland as their holiday destination via the Eckerö Line in 2022.
Photographer: Niclas Nordl
AURORA BOTNIA carried 267,757 passengers between Vaasa and Umeå in 2022.
The year was a success in many ways:
+149% increase in passenger volume
+11.5% increase in transported tonnes
+4.4% cargo units
+126% increase in transported passenger vehicles
+14% departures of AURORA BOTNIA
+78.6% turnover
-19.6% reduction in CO2 emissions
“This is a new generation ropax ferry that can use LNG, electricity, and in the future, biogas as fuel. Preparatory work for the innovative fuel solution has taken more time than expected, which has resulted in an adjusted delivery date for July,” says Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO, Rauma Marine Constructions.
Ropax ferry AURORA BOTNIA, which will operate on the route between the Finnish city of Vaasa and the Swedish city of Umeå, completed its first sea trial last weekend.
She will be the first ropax in the world with a Clean Design class notation.
In practice, this means that the ship has been designed and built to significantly exceed the requirements of the MARPOL Convention.
The ship’s main engines operate primarily on LNG. In the future, the ship can be powered by biogas. In addition to the fuel solution, AURORA BOTNIA has an electric power system that can be used when operating to and from ports.
“Our goal is to be a pioneer in environmentally sustainable technology in shipbuilding. Our ship for Wasaline is a prime example of what we can achieve by combining years of experience from building dozens of previous ships with the latest innovations. We are grateful to the customer for the opportunity to build such a great vessel,” says Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO and President of Rauma Marine Constructions.
Once Kvarken Link’s newbuilding AURORA BOTNIA enters service in May 2021, the well-traveled WASA EXPRESS (1981) will move from the icy waters of the Gulf of Botnia to the Red (hot) Sea.
New owner will be UME Shipping LLC.
“With our latest acquisition, we will be the first operator with a battery hybrid ferry in the Red Sea”, says Mr Mohamed Badawy, Chairman and owner of UME Shipping.
Wasaline’s new ropax AURORA BOTNIA has been floated out at Rauma Marine Constructions’ shipyard in Rauma, Finland, on Friday 11 September.
The vessel will be completed in spring 2021, after which it will operate between Vaasa in Finland and Umeå in Sweden.
The Name of The New Wasaline Ferry Will Be AURORA BOTNIA
The name for the new RoPax ferry for Wasaline, which is being built at Rauma Marine Constructions, will be
called AURORA BOTNIA. The ferry will be delivered in May 2021.
Northern Lights or Polar Lights in Latin are called Aurora borealis and this is a phenomenon we can admire
on our latitudes. Hence the name Aurora. Botnia, tells us where we are”, says Bertil Hammarstedt, CEO of
Kvarken Link.
Kvarken Link organized a naming contest in which almost 2,500 names were submitted.
