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Tag: Viking Line | Ferry Shipping News

Jun 14
3

Viking Line Unveils Concept for World’s Largest Electric Passenger-Car Ferry

By | 2025 Newsletter week 24 | No Comments
  • Viking Line has introduced the concept of HELlOS, the world’s largest (according to press release) fully electric passenger-car ferry.
  • Developed in partnership with Rauma Marine Constructions, Åbo Akademi University, and KONE.
  • Will operate on the Helsinki–Tallinn route, a crossing of just over two hours.
  • Capacity: approximately 2,000 passengers and a mix of passenger vehicles and freight.
  • Powered by 85–100 MWh batteries, enabling fully emission-free operations.
  • Designed with lightweight construction, efficient hull, and advanced propulsion to optimise energy use.
  • Part of the FIN-EST Green Corridor initiative, with a targeted launch in the early 2030s.
  • If realised, HELIOS will be a global benchmark for climate-smart short sea shipping.

Viking Helios concept ferry

  • Length: Approx. 195 m
  • Width: Approx. 30 m
  • Power source: Electricity (100%)
  • Battery capacity: 85–100 MWh (charging power requirement >30MWh)
  • Speed: Approx. 23 knots
  • Passengers: Approx. 2,000
  • Private cars: Approx. 650
  • Cargo capacity: Approx. 2,000 freight metres

Source: https://news.cision.com/viking-line-abp/r/viking-line-conceptualizes-the-world-s-largest-electric-passenger-car-ferry,c4159134

Jun 14
3

Viking Line Predicts Record Summer on Estonia Route

By | 2025 Newsletter week 24 | No Comments

Viking Line expects another record summer on the Helsinki–Tallinn route, following 732,000 passengers in 2023.

  • From 18 June to 10 August, three daily departures will be offered with VIKING XPRS, GABRIELLA, and VIKING CINDERELLA. Four sailings on Fridays.
  • A new partnership with Onnibus enables bus connections to the Katajanokka terminal from 15 Finnish cities, easing access for car-free travellers.
  • Estonia remains the top summer destination for Finns, with increasing interest in budget-friendly holidays and regions beyond Tallinn.
  • Viking Line reports strong early bookings, especially for car travel. Many departures are already full.
  • International tourism is also rebounding, with more US and Japanese visitors expected this summer.
  • Source: Viking Line
May 09
3

PEOPLE

By | 2025 Newsletter week 19 | No Comments

Management Changes at Gotlandsbolaget and Viking Line

Gotlandsbolaget

  • Björn Nilsson, current vice chairman of the board, will become the new CEO (7 July 2025)
  • Håkan Johansson, current CEO, will become vice CEO and new CEO of Destination Gotland (with immediate effect)
  • Marcus Risberg, CEO Destination Gotland, is leaving and becoming CEO of Viking Line
  • Board member Lars Wedenborn will become the new chairman of the board. (10 June)
  • Ann-Marie Åström will become vice chairman of the board. (10 June)

Viking Line

  • Viking Line Plc’s Board of Directors has appointed Marcus Risberg as the new CEO. (no later than 1 January 2026).
  • He succeeds Jan Hanses, who is retiring after 11 years as CEO and 38 years in the company’s service.

Source 1: https://corporate.gotlandsbolaget.se/sv/bjorn-nilsson-ny-vd-for-gotlandsbolaget/

Source 2: https://www.vikingline.com/sv/investerare/2A1B630434453DB1

Apr 25
3

Viking Line Q1 Characterized by Ship Dockings and a Challenging Market Environment

By | 2025 Newsletter week 17 | No Comments

Financial Highlights (Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024)

  • Sales: €87.3M (↓ 6.3% from €93.2M)
  • Operating income: €-18.0M (vs €-10.4M)
  • Income before taxes: €-22.0M (vs €-14.2M)
  • Net income: €-22.1M (vs €-14.3M)
  • Investments: €9.0M (mainly in GABRIELLA and VIKING XPRS)
  • Cash flow from operations: €-10.0M (vs €+1.3M)

Market & Operations

  • Passenger volumes: 767,353 (↓ from 871,828)
  • Cargo units: 36,352 (↑ from 32,993)
  • Passenger market share: 31.2% (↓ from 34.6%)
  • Cargo market share: 20.5% (↑ from 17.4%)
  • Passenger cars market share: 26.0% (↓ from 29.9%)

Fleet Activity

  • GABRIELLA docked (technical work)
  • VIKING XPRS docked (refurbishment and shop rebuild)
  • BIRKA GOTLAND had a planned traffic break
  • VIKING CINDERELLA temporarily operated on Helsinki–Tallinn route during XPRS docking

CEO Insights – Jan Hanses

  • Results aligned with expectations but weaker than Q1 2024
  • Two dockings negatively affected performance
  • Passenger demand still soft, but onboard consumption slightly stronger
  • Increased costs due to:
    • Finnish fairway fees (reversal of previous discount)
    • Emissions Trading System (ETS) now at 70% implementation
    • General cost pressure from maintenance, emissions, and fairway fees
    • Positive outlook expected toward the end of Q2

Financial & Investment Notes

  • Debt fully repaid for VIKING GRACE
  • Cash reserves down to €26.0M (vs €65.7M in Q1 2024)
  • Unutilised credit lines: €22.1M
  • Debt/equity ratio: 52.5% (vs 50.1%)

Key Risk Factors

  • Continued economic uncertainty in core traffic area
  • Geopolitical tensions affecting energy and transport markets
  • Unclear long-term trade prospects
  • Ongoing pandemic-era support repayments: €1.1M provision booked

Outlook

  • 2025 result before taxes expected to be in line with 2024
  • Uncertainty remains high due to external factors (economy, fuel prices, demand)
Feb 07
3

Viking Line, Ports of Turku and Stockholm Celebrate One Year of Cooperation to Establish a Green Shipping Corridor

By | 2025 Newsletter week 06 | No Comments

Viking Line, Port of Turku and Ports of Stockholm have been working together for a year on a project which aims to establish a green, fossil-free shipping corridor between Stockholm and Turku. The parties have now laid a solid foundation for the project and developed a clear plan for a common way forward.

Read more on Vikingline.com

Jan 20
2

2024: Record Volumes of Cargo for Viking Line

By | 2025 Newsletter week 03 | No Comments

Viking Line: five vessels served a total of 4.6 million passengers in 2024 and transported a record volume of cargo.

  • Viking Line served a total of 4,646,676 passengers with its five vessels in 2024.
  • The cruise vessel BIRKA GOTLAND, which is jointly owned with Gotlandsbolaget, also served 438,743 passengers.
  • The biggest increase – almost 10% – was noted on the Helsinki–Tallinn route, which had 1,819,971 passengers.
  • Capacity on the Helsinki–Stockholm route more than doubled when VIKING CINDERELLA launched service on the route alongside GABRIELLA in March. A total of 722,051 people travelled on the route, and Viking Line’s market share was boosted to 43%.
  • On the Turku–Stockholm route, Viking Line’s market share was 70%, with VIKING GLORY and VIKING GRACE serving a total of 1,983,081 passengers.
  • Viking Line transported a record volume of cargo last year, a total of 134,219 units.
Nov 01
2

Guernsey Choses Brittany Ferries

By | 2024 Newsletter week 44 | No Comments

Guernsey has selected Brittany Ferries / Condor Ferries as its preferred operator for vital sea routes over the next 15 years, ensuring continued connectivity. Meanwhile, Jersey’s government has not yet finalised its choice for a company to manage its own service routes.

DFDS was involved in the tender process, as well as Irish Ferries. The first sent a few ships to test the berths, the latter withdrew.

Nov 01
2

Viking Line’s Circular Economy Success: Transforming Waste into Sustainable Resources

By | 2024 Newsletter week 44 | No Comments

Viking Line recycles nearly all waste from its vessels, with coffee grounds and cooking oil collected for reuse. Coffee grounds, collected from five vessels, are repurposed for garden soil, reducing the need for peat by 30%. Cooking oil is converted into hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a diesel alternative. In 2023, Viking Line recycled 1,475 tonnes of food waste, generating enough biogas to power 800 apartments annually. Ongoing efforts include a food waste project to analyse and reduce surplus, highlighting Viking Line’s commitment to sustainability.

Source: Viking Line

Sep 06
2

Viking Line had a total of nearly 1.8 million passengers during the summer

By | 2024 Newsletter week 36 | No Comments

Nearly 1.8 million passengers travelled on Viking Line’s vessels during the period June–August 2024. The greatest increase in demand was on the Tallinn route, which also had more departures than in previous summer seasons. This summer, passengers were drawn by the variety of attractions in Estonia and the other Baltic countries, to Åland as depicted in the historical film Stormskärs Maja, and by a refurbished Viking Cinderella. 

 In short: 

  • Viking Line served nearly 1.8 million passengers during June–August 2024. 
  • The Tallinn route saw the greatest increase in demand, with over 732,000 passengers and a rise of more than 11%. 
  • The Helsinki–Stockholm route carried 274,000 passengers, with Viking Line’s market share rising to 44%. 
  • A cheap Swedish krona increased Stockholm’s appeal as a destination. 
  • Special cruises to Visby, Gotland were highly popular and sold out quickly. 
  • The Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route served 747,000 passengers, maintaining Viking Line’s market share at nearly 70%. 
  • International tourist numbers rose significantly, with notable increases in Chinese, German, Polish, South Korean, and American passengers. 
  • Climate tourism, driven by people seeking cooler destinations, is on the rise. 
  • The abrupt end of the summer season is a challenge for the tourism industry due to earlier school start dates in Finland. 

 Read the full story on Vikingline.com 

Feb 16
1

Viking Line posts historically strong earnings

By | 2024 Newsletter week 07 | No Comments

January–December 2023 (2022)

  • Sales amounted to EUR 491.4 million (EUR 494.7 million).
  • Other operating revenue was EUR 9.1 million (EUR 24.1 million).
  • Operating income totalled EUR 55.0 million (EUR 38.3 million).
  • Net financial items were EUR -9.6 million (EUR -10.3 million).
  • Income before taxes totalled EUR 45.4 million (EUR 28.0 million).
  • Income after taxes totalled EUR 36.3 million (EUR 22.7 million).
  • The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of 1 euro per share, which corresponds to 48% of earnings.

Outlook for the financial year 2024

There continues to be significant uncertainty due to the geopolitical situation and the impact this has on energy prices, inflation, interest rates and currencies as well as the effects these uncertainty factors may have on people’s propensity to travel, demand, consumption patterns and costs.

Provided energy prices remain at current levels and there is a sustained propensity to travel, the Board expects income before taxes in 2024 to be on a par with the figure for 2023 if the EUR 8.6 million capital gain from the sale of ROSELLA in 2023 is not included.

Q4, 2023

  • Sales amounted to EUR 112.2 million (EUR 124.5 million).
  • Other operating revenue was EUR 0.3 million (EUR 15.2 million).
  • Operating income totalled EUR 2.7 million (EUR 19.4 million).
  • Net financial items were EUR -0.6 million (EUR -2.9 million).
  • Income before taxes amounted to EUR 2.0 million (EUR 16.5 million including the EUR 15.0 million capital gain from AMORELLA).
  • Income after taxes totalled EUR 1.7 million (EUR 13.2 million).

Full details here.