In November 2024, AS Tallink Grupp transported (compared to November last year):
- 369,996 passengers (-1.9%)
- 21,409 cargo units (-19.4%)
- 47,101 passenger vehicles (-6.3%)
Source: Tallink
AS Tallink Grupp subsidiary Hansalink Ltd, has made an agreement to sell the cruiseferry ISABELLE to a company within the Bridgemans Services Group Ltd.
Since 1 July 2023, ISABELLE has been on charter with the Bridgemans Floatel division, who have taken up a purchase option. The vessel’s future lies in the floating accommodation sector.
The sale of the cruiseferry will have a positive impact on the 2024 financial results of AS Tallink Grupp.
The vessel is currently in dry-dock in North Vancouver for final refit. Woodfibre LNG has selected the Bridgemans Floatel to house its project construction workforce in Howe Sound, British Columbia, beginning spring 2024.
Photo: Bridgemans
Tallink is to bring VICTORIA I back to the Tallinn – Stockholm route for summer 2024. The cruiseferry will operate alongside BALTIC QUEEN to offer day departures in each direction from 31 May to 31 August.
This will be the first time since the pandemic that Tallink has offered a two-ship service on the Estonia – Sweden link. VICTORIA I will also offer a number of cruises to Visby from Helsinki and Tallinn this summer.
VICTORIA I is currently operating the 22-hour cruise service on Tallink’s Tallinn – Helsinki route. She is scheduled to return to this trade on 31 August 2024. During her absence, the shuttle ferries MYSTAR and MEGASTAR will serve the route alone.
Commenting on the temporary route operations change, Tallink Grupp’s CEO Paavo Nõgene said:
“We saw customer demand increase on the Tallinn-Stockholm route for more frequent departures already in summer 2023, so this year we have decided to offer our customers what they have asked for during the summer peak travel season and give everyone the opportunity to travel between our two Nordic capitals more easily.”
Photo: Tallink/Marko Stampehl
On Friday, 7 April 2023, Tallink Grupp’s shuttle vessel MEGASTAR started using high voltage shore connection facilities at the Port of Helsinki West Harbour while the vessel is berthed at the quayside overnight between departures.
Shore power is now used by Tallink Grupp’s vessels at the ports of Stockholm, Tallinn and Helsinki: fewer GHG emissions and less noise.
The company estimates that connecting the vessels to shore power facilities during their longer port stays reduces CO2 emissions of:
- MYSTAR and MEGASTAR: each 112 tons/month (1,344 tons/y)
- BALTIC QUEEN: 95 tons/month (1,140/y)
- SILJA SYMPHONY and SILJA SERENADE: each 156 tons/month (1,872/y).
All five vessels using shore power during their longer port stays means that the company is reducing its CO2 emissions as a result by a whopping 7,572 tons per year.
Tallink Grupp’s 2022 Unaudited Financial Results reveal a profitable year.
- Full year profit of EUR 13.9 million (EUR 56.6 million net loss in 2021)
- Consolidated revenue of EUR 771.4 million (EUR 476.9 million in 2021)
- EBITDA of EUR 135.8 million (EUR 58.3 million in 2021)
- Investments of EUR 203.3 million. EUR 176.7 million related to the new shuttle vessel MYSTAR.
- 5 million Passengers (2.96 million in 2021).
- 409,769 Freight units (369,000 in 2021)
The 2022 results were impacted by firstly the remaining Covid Travel Restrictions in force at the start of the year and then, more significantly, by the Ukraine War and resultant business cost increases.
Two ships are on long-term charters (ATLANTIC VISION and ROMANTIKA) and four on short-term charters (ISABELLE, SILJA EUROPA, GALAXY and VICTORIA I)
Tallink Grupp opened ticket sales for the brand new Tallinn-Helsinki route shuttle departures with its vessel STAR, which will be launched from 27 November, taking Tallink’s weekday departures on the route between the two Nordic capitals to a new record of 16 departures per day.
The new departures on shuttle vessel STAR are launched as the company’s brand-new vessel MYSTAR is nearing completion and will be launched on the route to operate in tandem with vessel MEGASTAR in the second half of November.
- 30 August 2022, Scandlines celebrated the keel laying of its new zero direct emission freight ferry PR24, under construction at the Cemre Shipyard.
- The ferry will be inserted on the Puttgarden-Rødby route in 2024 as the first emission-free
- In 2030, the entire route will be emission-free.
- The new ferry can charge in just 17 minutes in Rødby. In 2019, Scandlines invested in a 50 kV / 25 MW power cable at Færgevej in Rødbyhavn. In spring 2023, work will start on extending this cable to the ferry berths, where a transformer and charging station will be installed.
- Crossing time 70 minutes = emission-free
- Crossing time 45 minutes = hybrid
- Thus, the ferry can also be used as backup ferry for one of the four double-ended ferries.
- The rebuilding of the terminals in Puttgarden and Rødby has already started.
- Berth 1 in Rødby will be converted into a lay-up berth for all five double-ended ferries.
- As PR24 will be transporting lorries on both the upper and lower decks – as it is currently the case on the ferries operating the Rostock-Gedser route – berth 1 in Puttgarden and berth 3 in Rødby must also be rebuilt. This work is expected to start later this year.
Data for zero-emission Scandlines freight ferry for the Puttgarden-Rødby route:
Length: 147.4 m
Breadth: 25.4 m
Design draft: 5.30 m
Freight capacity: 66 freight units (abt. 1,200 lane meters)
Max. number of passengers: 140
Service speed: 10 knots
Battery system: 10 MWh
Charging time in port: 17 minutes
Investment: 80 MEUR
- Finnlines is building two Superstar ro-pax vessels.
- The first vessel, FINNSIRIUS, was launched on 30 August 2022.
- The keel laying of FINNCANOPUS, was celebrated on 1 September 2022.
- The two ropax ferries will start to operate from Finland to Sweden and Åland Islands in 2023.
Environmental qualities
Emission reduction technology
Shore power connection
Exhaust gas abatement
Waste heat recovery
Battery pack
Air lubrication
Auto-mooring
Ballast water treatment system
Ship particulars FINNSIRIUS / FINNCANOPUS
Type of vessel : Cargo-passenger
Delivery: 2023
Ice class: 1A Super
Length, overall: 235.0 m
Gross tonnage: 64,600
Deadweight: 11,500
Lane metres: 5,100
Passengers: about 1,100
Passenger cabins: 323
Route: Finland–Sweden (Naantali–Långnäs–Kapellskär)
August 2022 compared to August 2021 (and 2019)
+54.8% passengers 603,284 (1,017,565 in 2019)
+23.4% cargo units 35,530 (30,519 in 2019)
+14% passenger vehicles 89,105 (115,339 in 2019)
Dutch media suggest that a Tallink vessel will be used as accommodation for refugees.
This cruise ferry would arrive end of August in Velsen-Noord (a town opposite IJmuiden).
There was an earlier plan to charter VICTORIA I for the same purpose, but much to the surprise of Velsen-Noord and the COA (Central organisation for asylum seekers).
A letter of intent was sent to Tallink on June 30 by COA and Sleepships, the company that was asked to organise the charter. However, no contract was signed and Scotland snapped the VICTORIA I.
The charter would last until 1 March 2023.
