Tallink Grupp late last week signed a contract with Canadian enterprise Bridgemans Floatel LP/Bridgemans Services Group LP for a multi-year charter of the company’s vessel Isabelle, with a purchase option. The agreement is for a bareboat charter, meaning the vessel will be chartered out without Tallink Grupp’s crew, according to the company's release.
The Latvian-flagged Isabelle, formerly operating on the company’s Riga-Stockholm route before the Covid pandemic, and currently housing Ukrainian refugees in Tallinn since April 2022 as part of a charter agreement with the Estonian government, will be chartered to Bridgemans from 1 July 2023.
Isabelle is expected to stay in Tallinn for refurbishment before departing for Canada later this year.
Tallink Grupp’s current agreement with the Estonian Social Insurance Board ends in June 2023. There are currently approximately 900 Ukrainian refugees still living on board the vessel. The Estonian authorities have alternative accommodation plans in place for the refugees after the termination of the contract with Tallink Grupp.
AS Tallink Grupp is one of the leading providers of passenger and cargo transport services in the northern Baltic Sea region. The company’s fleet consists of 15 vessels and the company operates various routes under the brands of Tallink and Silja Line. Tallink Grupp’s shares are listed on the Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange.