Erik Söderholm: Centuries-long connection to Stockholm still going strong

Managing Director
Port of Turku Ltd
Finland

The connection between Turku and Stockholm has served as one of Finland’s most important international maritime routes for many centuries. Representatives of the Crown and the church as well as students and pilgrims heading to Continental Europe travelled via the cities separated by just a short sea voyage already in the Middle Ages. The most extensive sailing, however, comprised of the voyages by the burghers of Turku, as Turku’s right to conduct foreign trade gave them a strong advantage.

The end of 1898 marked an all-new era in the history of the Port of Turku, as regular liner service begun between Turku and Stockholm. Initially operated with one weekly departure, the traffic increased gradually, and daily departures started in 1912. With the regular service to Stockholm and functioning wintertime traffic, the Port of Turku became one of the leading Finnish ports already at that point in time. After the Second World War the passenger volumes on the Turku–Stockholm route increased rapidly, and in the 1960s there were already one million passengers travelling on the route.

The quick growth of the passenger volumes resulted from the start of modern car ferry traffic in 1961. The first ship on the route was Silja’s Skandia and one year later the same shipping company’s Nordea. Turku’s position as the main harbour for traffic to Stockholm was sealed, when Viking Line also started its car ferry service from Turku to Stockholm in 1973. Since then these two shipping companies together with the Port of Turku and City of Turku have actively developed their readiness to serve both passenger and cargo transports between the cities.

The sea connection between Turku and Stockholm is also important to Finland’s emergency supply. That was again emphasised during the coronavirus pandemic, when the continuity of cargo transports on the route was secured through support of the National Emergency Supply Agency, although passenger traffic ceased almost completely due to the travel restrictions.

The development of vessel traffic requires major investments. Shipping companies have over the decades purchased new vessels for the route so that at present the fleet operating between Turku and Stockholm is the most modern in the Baltic Sea. The vessel sizes have more than doubled from the 102-metre Skandia to the newest 223-metre-long Viking Glory. The passenger volumes and cargo capacity have grown even more. Nordea was able to take 1,200 passengers and had a cargo capacity of 429 lane metres. The corresponding figures for Viking Glory are 2,800 passengers and 1,500 lane metres.

As the vessels have grown and the number of passengers has risen at best to nearly four million, the ports have been upgraded at the same time. The berths have been extended, terminals and field areas have been expanded, and road traffic in the port has been enhanced to make it run more smoothly. In recent years, the Port of Turku has invested e.g. in the automated mooring and unmooring system. The new automooring equipment provides much needed extra time to the short turnaround time of ships, as there is just one hour to move thousands of people out of and into the ship and carry out e.g. the cleaning and supplementation routines.

In addition to efficient traffic and services, the Port has invested in environmentally sound operations. One of the biggest projects was the NextGen Link project, partly funded by the EU, which aimed at increasing the environmental soundness of maritime transports on the route between Turku and Stockholm. The project was implemented from 2017–2021 and the participants were the Port of Turku, City of Turku, Viking Line, Port of Mariehamn, and Port of Stockholm. Investments within the project included the world’s first passenger ship using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel, commissioned by Viking Line, and the automooring equipment installed in the Port of Turku. At present, both of Viking Line’s vessels on the route run on LNG, and Tallink Silja has also introduced environmentally safer technology. The new stock of vessels generates lower greenhouse gas emissions, and the design of the ships also takes into account other environmental aspects, including wave formation.

The Ferry Terminal Turku project will upgrade the passenger harbour in Turku into a centre of maritime travel that meets the requirements of fast-paced, smooth and safe ship traffic. At the same time, the goal is to create a unique maritime district in the Turku passenger harbour that will serve both tourists and local citizens, offering various activities within a walking distance from the Turku city-centre.

The joint project of the Port of Turku, City of Turku, Viking Line and Tallink Silja comprises of the new joint terminal for passenger traffic as well as significant changes in the quay structures, outdoor areas, and traffic arrangements. In addition to passenger traffic, Ferry Terminal Turku will also serve the cargo transports between Finland and Scandinavia which is important to the business world. The project is due for completion at the turn of the year 2026–2027.