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Swedish Owned Stena Line Sets Sail for the First Time to Finland

11th February 2022
New route: Gothenburg based Stena Line opened its first (freight) Sweden-Finland route between Nynäshamn and Hanko. The new Baltic Sea route accommodates an increasing demand from  freight customers for a seamless link with operations starting this month by Urd with sister Stena Gothica (above) joining in May. Afloat adds the Urd, the one time Sealink British Ferries operated Seafreight Highway served Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead albeit briefly in 1988 before the Ireland-Wales route operated by the Finnish-built HSS Stena Explorer fastcraft ferry made its final crossing in 2014.  New route: Gothenburg based Stena Line opened its first (freight) Sweden-Finland route between Nynäshamn and Hanko. The new Baltic Sea route accommodates an increasing demand from freight customers for a seamless link with operations starting this month by Urd with sister Stena Gothica (above) joining in May. Afloat adds the Urd, the one time Sealink British Ferries operated Seafreight Highway served Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead albeit briefly in 1988 before the Ireland-Wales route operated by the Finnish-built HSS Stena Explorer fastcraft ferry made its final crossing in 2014. Credit: Stena Line

Swedish owned Stena Line opened its first ever (Afloat adds, albeit freight-only) route to Finland with the first sailing of the Nynäshamn-Hanko route taking place on the 1st February. 

The ro-ro Urd (former Seafreight Highway on the Irish Sea) departed Nynäshamn/Stockholm Norvik Port after an inauguration ceremony with a small group of guests from business and politics.

Starting with three departures per week, the link Nynäshamn-Hanko will soon switch to a daily schedule, when the ferry Stena Gothica joins its sister vessel in the beginning of May.

”By Urd’s departure to Finland, we close a gap in the transport network. This new service is primarily an outcome of customer dialogue and market demand. But to bring it to life you also need to be somewhat entrepreneurial, and it requires hard work, a dedicated team and strong commitment to make a new route a success. So far the response has been very positive which shows that we made the right decision”, says Johan Edelman, Trade Director Baltic Sea North Stena Line.

The new route marks the next step in Stena Line’s ambition to further expand and strengthen its position in the Baltic Sea. The new service will accommodate the increasing demand of the freight customers for seamless transports in the Baltic Sea and beyond. By extending the network to Finland, Stena Line further improves and expands the most comprehensive, efficient, and integrated ferry network in Northern Europe.

“It is a straight forward, transport focussed setup, dedicated to establish a floating bridge between Central Sweden and Southern Finland. Reliable ships and flexible, solution-seeking staff are the pillars of Nynäshamn-Hanko. We will carry with us the memory of the inauguration when we are back at our desks to work on further developing the link and fulfilling our aims for growth”, says Johan Edelman.

The first ship on February 1 towards Finnish Hanko sails overnight for a crossing time of 12 hours. Nynäshamn-Hanko is the first ever route from Stena Line connecting Sweden with mainland Finland. A proud moment for all involved:

“The commitment of Stena Line in introducing another route from Stockholm Norvik Port emphasises how important the newly built port is for the sustainable supply of goods to Sweden’s largest consumer area. The port has strong intermodal connections to the rest of Sweden both by road and by rail and the location is closer to the fairway than any other ports on the Swedish east coast. It is a success that we together can grow with yet another new route, this time between Sweden and Finland,” says Fredrik Lindstål, Chair of the Board at Ports of Stockholm.

The vessels Urd and Stena Gothica offer a capacity of 1,600 lanemeters and give space to 186 passengers each. The dedicated cargo focus caters for all needs of Stena Line´s freight customers, be it traditional accompanied and unaccompanied units, containers, special cargo or intermodal units arriving by rail.

Published in Stena Line
Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals. 

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About Stena Line

Stena Line is one of Europe's leading ferry companies with 37 vessels and 17 routes in Northern Europe operating 25,000 sailings each year. Stena Line is an important part of the European logistics network and develops new intermodal freight solutions by combining transport by rail, road and sea. Stena Line also plays an important role for tourism in Europe with its extensive passenger operations. The company is family-owned, was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Gothenburg. Stena Line has 4,300 employees and an annual turnover of 14 billion SEK.