• 2024 September 5 14:14

    Viking Line carried a total of 1.8 million passengers in June–August 2024

    Nearly 1.8 million passengers travelled on Viking Line’s vessels during the period June–August 2024, according to the company's release. The greatest increase in demand was on the Tallinn route, which also had more departures than in previous summer seasons. This summer, passengers were drawn by the variety of attractions in Estonia and the other Baltic countries, to Åland as depicted in the historical film Stormskärs Maja, and by a refurbished Viking Cinderella.

    Viking Line served nearly 1.8 million passengers during the June–August summer season just ended.

    “Summer is the peak season for cruises, and we prepare meticulously for this. This summer, we further increased capacity on the Tallinn route. The offering on the Helsinki–Stockholm route was also bigger than last year, with Cinderella reassigned permanently to this route during the spring. There is demand for increased capacity, and despite fully booked vessels it is gratifying to know that we received very high marks for customer satisfaction this summer. All in all, the 2024 cruise summer was very successful for us,” says Viking Line’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, Johanna Boijer-Svahnström.

    The number of passengers increased most – more than 11 per cent – on the Tallinn route, which is served by Viking Cinderella and Gabriella alongside Viking XPRS. The route had a total of 732,000 passengers during the June–August period.

    In July, it was 50 years since Viking Line launched passenger service between Helsinki and Stockholm. The route, which connects the two Nordic capitals, has always been important, and during this anniversary year a total of 274,000 passengers sailed with Gabriella and Viking Cinderella on the Helsinki–Stockholm route. Viking Line’s market share on the route climbed to 44 per cent.

    Along with service to Stockholm and Tallinn, Viking Cinderella and Gabriella made a total of seven special cruises to Visby this summer. Gotland’s romantic county capital is very popular in Finland, and these special departures sold out during the spring. In October and November, Viking Line will arrange two more special cruises to Visby.

    On the route between Turku, Mariehamn and Stockholm, the most climate-smart vessels on the Baltic Sea – Viking Glory and Viking Grace – served 747,000 passengers during the period June–August. Viking Line’s market share on the route is nearly 70 per cent.

    The number of foreign tourists has increased steadily on Viking Line’s vessels since the COVID pandemic. In the past three summer months, the number of Chinese tourists was as much as three times higher than the figure last year. The number of German and Polish passengers also increased significantly, as did the number of South Koreans and Americans.

    The season for international tourists coincides with Europeans’ summer holidays in August, when most Finns have already returned to their everyday lives. Schools this year started earlier than usual – in many places as early as August 8.




2024 September 5

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15:25 BAO-NYK Shipping celebrates first shipment by its new flagship
14:42 The world's largest methanol-powered container ship now in regular service between the Port of Gothenburg and Asia
14:14 Viking Line carried a total of 1.8 million passengers in June–August 2024
13:44 Brunvoll form partnership with Torghatten Nord in the construction of a new hybrid ferry
13:21 MOL starts production in the largest capacity green hydrogen plant of the region
12:11 Wartsila secures pivotal role in developing Singapore’s Next-Generation Vessel Traffic Management System
11:41 New white paper from Survitec urges reform of methanol fire safety guidelines
11:02 Bunker price trends in the world's four largest hubs, Sept 2-8 – MABUX
10:45 LR and KRISO join forces on verification and validation in marine autonomy
10:14 MAN PrimeServ's largest service centre adopts repair and conversion concept for future

2024 September 4

18:00 MOL announces naming ceremony for LNG-powered ferry Sunflower Pirka
17:33 Greek Union of Cruise Ship Owners proposes measures to tackle overtourism
17:13 LR: Feedstock availability and aviation demand challenge biofuel adoption in shipping
16:03 Kongsberg Maritime designed Reach Remote 1 named ‘Ship of the Year 2024’ at SMM
15:24 Babcock supports Polish Miecznik frigate programme
14:51 thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and NVL agree on cooperation to build new frigates for the German Navy
14:09 North America’s LNG export capacity is on track to more than double by 2028
13:44 ClassNK has updated its report “ClassNK Alternative Fuels Insight”
13:12 Hoegh Autoliners selects Kongsberg Maritime for propulsion upgrades on ten PCTC vessels
12:41 Bureau Veritas streamlines vessel and fleet compliance and performance with the launch of its new smart hub, MOVE
12:21 Adani Ports' records 5% increase in cargo volumes in August 2024
11:52 SIPG reports 23.13% revenue growth in H1
11:27 Hanwha Ocean begins overhaul of U.S. Navy logistics vessel in S. Korea
10:41 Alfa Laval receives Approval in Principle for its Gas Combustion Unit for hydrogen
10:11 Three FPSO units on order from Q2 2024 - Energy Maritime Associates
09:47 BAL Container Line orders two container ships from Jiangnan Shipyard for US$290 million

2024 September 3

18:04 Iran, Russia discuss development of transport corridors
17:43 Damen signs contract with Gerdes Green for a second Combi Freighter 3850
17:20 Power outage in Rotterdam port resolved, refineries impacted
16:59 China State Shipbuilding Corporation and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation set to merge, creating the world's largest shipbuilder
16:04 Alfa Laval enables a safe ammonia-fuelled future with its innovative solutions
15:55 KNUD E HANSEN presents new concept of wind turbine maintenance platform
15:19 AtoB@C Shipping christens Stellamar in Ystad
14:59 Noatum Logistics launches new rail logistics solution for the Middle East region
14:39 Color Line to upgrade Ro-Pax vessels with Wartsila hybrid scrubber
14:23 Sealution’s Gateway awarded prestigious Type Approval by Lloyd's Register
13:58 CIMAC and Maritime Battery Forum publish paper on batteries in deep-sea shipping
12:40 Christiania Shipping to acquire 100% of the shares in NAVQUIM Holding from Sogestran Shipping
12:21 Shell signs ten-year LNG supply agreement with Turkish energy company
11:39 RMK Marine completes Europe’s largest inland LNG bunkering barge
11:04 Hapag-Lloyd trials NexusWave service
10:45 Australia increases its trade relations with Valenciaport
10:09 Lloyd’s Register to acquire Ocean Technologies Group from Oakley Capital

2024 September 2

18:00 MOL PLUS to invest in Global Fund 2 managed by UntroD
17:21 Concept Design Study reaffirms compressed hydrogen is an energy- efficient supply chain for regional Europe
17:05 Container carrier profits rise to more than $10 bln in Q2 2024
16:53 COSCO signs agreement for 42 bulk carriers
16:24 Gasum to supply Hapag-Lloyd with waste-based bio-LNG in accordance with winning ZEMBA tender
15:44 ABS expands presence in Western Australia
15:14 KONGSBERG signs agreement to sell its steering gear and rudder business to Norvestor
14:43 Philippine Ports Authority ensures drug-free ports through strict security measures
14:22 Annual oil spill response exercise successfully completed in Klaipeda
13:57 MSC MARIE ship becomes the largest capacity Neopanamax to cross the Panama Canal
12:30 Harren Group and SAL Heavy Lift launch the first of five planned Orca class heavy lift vessels
11:59 Djibouti offers Ethiopia management of Tadjourah port to ease regional tensions
11:26 Mammoet launches world’s strongest land-based crane
10:48 Chinese ports container volume rises 8.3 % from January to July of 2024

2024 September 1

16:02 Port of Gothenburg: The largest port expansion in 40 years opens
15:42 Jan De Nul awarded contract for Palm Jebel Ali marine works in Dubai
15:06 Mammoet launches world’s strongest land-based crane
14:39 Romania bids to take over Moldova's only river port
14:21 Viking announces expansion of China offering with new voyages starting in 2025
13:17 SeaLead relaunches Far East India Express 2 service
11:44 DNV report: Technological developments key to reducing maritime sector emissions
09:43 Sri Lanka ports container volume hits 1.54 million TEU

2024 August 31

16:03 Salvage of stricken oil tanker in Red Sea expected soon – Reuters
15:41 MSC enhances Santana and Carioca services for improved connectivity
14:13 LR commences IECRE certification of Carnegie Energy's CETO Wave Energy Converter