Tallink not to reopen Riga-Stockholm ferry line this year

RIGA - Estonian ferry operator Tallink Grupp and the Estonian Social Insurance Board have signed a short-term time-charter agreement for the vessel Isabelle, which means that the company will not restart ferry traffic between Riga and Stockholm this year, according to Tallink's statement to Nasdaq Tallinn. 

The ferry Isabelle has been chartered to the Estonian authorities from April 7, 2022 for four months with  a two-plus-two months extension option.

The Isabelle will be used to provide temporary accommodation to Ukrainian refugees arriving in Estonia. 

"Chartering of the vessel means that, in contrast with the original plans, the company will not reopen the Riga-Stockholm route in 2022," the ferry operator said in the statement. 

As reported, Tallink originally planned to restart regular ferry traffic between Riga and Stockholm with its vessel Isabelle on April 6. In March Tallink informed that it will delay the reopening of the company’s Riga-Stockholm route, which has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic for two years, until June 3 of this year.

Tallink suspended the Riga-Stockholm route two years ago because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Tallink Grupp is a provider of passenger and freight transport services in the northern part of the Baltic Sea region. The company owns 15 vessels and operates several Baltic Sea ferry lines under the Tallink and Silja Line brands. Tallink Group's shares are listed on the Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange.