Challenging year for Wasaline, with many positive signs despite of Covid-19

Due to the restrictions regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, turnover decreased during the year by 46.4%. Turnover for passenger traffic decreased by 72.7% and passenger volume decreased by 72.0%.  Turnover of Cargo increased by 7.5%.

On March 12, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland issued a recommendation to avoid all travel and declared a State of Emergency on March 16. On March 19, the border crossing between Sweden and Finland was restricted and pleasure travel stopped completely. Hotel bookings stopped and in Vaasa the number of hotel nights decreased by 96% and in Umeå by 86.4%.

In 2020, a record was set in the number of cargo units since the start of the traffic in 2013.  Cargo units increased by 6.6% compared to 2019 and compared to 2013 the increase has been 26%.

The average ton price of fuel has decreased by 36.1% in 2020 and the total fuel saving has been 3.2%. Departures decreased by 1.2% to 816 departures between Vaasa and Umeå compared to 2019 with 826 departures.

“Despite all the challenges we have with Covid-19, I look forward to 2021. With a steady increase on the cargo side, we see that the new vessel with greater cargo capacity is needed and we have already launched the timetable for 2021. With the extensive savings programs we have managed to keep the economy at a satisfactory level. We would like to extend a big thank you to all our cargo customers and to all staff who do an outstanding job daily of reviewing all costs and ensuring that emergency traffic works smoothly across Kvarken “, says Peter Ståhlberg, CEO of Wasaline.

More information:                        
Peter Ståhlberg, Managing Director, e-mail: [email protected] phone: +358 40 5592353

Owned by Kvarken Link Oy, Wasaline is the northernmost shipping company that transports passengers and cargo daily between Vaasa, Finland and Umeå, Sweden. Wasaline’s new vessel, under construction at Rauma Marine Constructions, Finland, will be delivered in April 2021. For more information: www.wasaline.com.