Viking XPRS raises Finnish flag

By | 2023 Newsletter week 10 | No Comments

At a ceremony at Skatudden, Helsinki on 6 March, the Finnish flag was raised on the VIKING XPRS.

The reflagging from the Estonian flag makes Viking Line Finland’s biggest employer in maritime transport.

The 2008-built VIKING XPRS operates on the Helsinki – Tallinn route. Staff on the vessel will be transferred to the Finnish salary system and become direct employees of Viking Line. The crew previously worked through an Estonian staffing company.

175 people work onboard with around 10% previously being crew of the ROSELLA, sold at the start of the year.

Master Stefan Dahlström said;

“We also have a number of experienced staff who were shifted over from our other vessels as well as former VIKING XPRS crew members. The reflagging will make hiring easier for us and give our staff greater opportunities to move between the vessels.”

The company has 1,200 permanent seafarers and about 500 fixed-term employees in Finland on vessels registered in Finland’s Register of Ships.  Four of the company’s five vessels – VIKING XPRS, VIKING GLORY, and VIKING GRACE AND GABRIELLA – are Finnish flagged.  CINDERELLA sails under the Swedish flag.

Photo: Viking Line