GROWING WITH THE CUSTOMERS
STENA LINE OPENS NEW ROUTE TO FINLAND
In recent months, Stena Line has heavily focused on expanding in the Baltic Sea. With its newest route, the ferry operator literally breaks new ground, and closes a gap at the same time. Stena Line’s first ever ferry route to mainland Finland makes up for the now densest route network in Northern Europe, reaching from the Irish Sea to the utmost east of the continent. The opening is also a testament of Stena Line’s approach to act dynamically and consequently, when the customers’ demand is there.
On February 1, 2022, the link between Hanko in Finland and Swedish Nynäshamn will be inaugurated. The ferry Urd will be the vessel to first connect mainland Finland for Stena Line, serving each port every second day. In May, Urd’s sister vessel Stena Gothica will be added to the route for daily departures from both Hanko and Nynäshman.
BEST LOCATION FOR SMOOTH CONNECTIONS
“Our newest route caters our customers’ demand in many ways. Hanko is a key hub for trade and industrial products, the automotive industry and export of forest industry products in Finland, to which we can now offer direct access. By using Nynäshamn’s Port of Norvik, we will have the best location for smooth connections to our Southern Baltic routes and the Central European markets, thus creating seamless transport chains across the continent”, says Johan Edelman, Trade Director Baltic Sea North at Stena Line, and continues:
“The initial schedule is designed to cater the peak days for cargo flows to and from Sweden, so we will meet an existing demand. When turning to a daily schedule in May, the overnight departures allow for efficient loading and unloading times when staying in Nynäshamn and Hanko during the days.”
PART OF BALTIC SEA EXPANSION
The vessels deployed are reliable workhorses providing ample space and stability for the further development of the route. Dedicated freight RoPax ferries, Urd and Stena Gothica have a capacity of 1,600 lane meters and 186 passengers each. They add up to Stena Line’s latest investments in the expansive Eastern Baltic Sea area, including the deployment of two long newly built E-Flexers on the route Nynäshamn-Ventspils and the large capacity improvement on Karlskrona-Gdynia with the recently lengthened Stena Scandica and Stena Baltica during 2022.
“The whole setup of the new Finland route – schedules, vessels, ports – is well thought trough to combine customer expectation with a reliable service. We will combine the leading port for efficient transport routes at central location in southern Finland and invest in a long-term settlement in the Stockholm areas’ new Port of Norvik in Nynäshamn. There is a lot to like about this service already now, and we are very much looking forward to get going”, Johan Edelman adds, and is backed up fully by Stena Line’s CEO Niclas Mårtensson:
“With our new daily route between Hanko and Nynäshamn, we heavily expand and strengthen our position in the Baltic Sea. And we do so for the most important reason: customer demand! Growing with our customers, we are investing in the new service to accommodate the increasing demand of our freight customers for seamless transports in the Baltic Sea and beyond. By extending our network to Finland, we further improve and expand the most comprehensive, efficient, and integrated ferry network in northern Europe”, says Niclas Mårtensson.