Shipping company Tallink Silja Lines is converting two more ferries into temporary accommodation for Ukrainian war refugees. These are the ferries Silja Europa and Galaxy – which will be moved to the Netherlands from August and September. 

The decision also means that over 200 employees will be given notice.

Tallink Silja Line Europa, which operates the Tallinn-Helsinki route and is one of the largest cruise ferries in the Nordic region with 1,400 cabins, will move to the Netherlands at the end of the high season. Starting on August 20, the ferry will be converted into a temporary accommodation for Ukrainian refugees. The contract is for seven months, with the possibility of a three-month extension.

The ferry Silja Line Galaxy, which operates the route between Turku and Stockholm, with 795 cabins, will also be moved to the Netherlands from September 20, with the same contract terms and extension options as for Silja Line Europa. 

The company does not communicate what rent Tallink charges for the rental of the ferries.

A total of four of the company's ferries were converted into temporary accommodation for Ukrainian refugees during the second quarter, when Silja Line Isabelle and Victoria I previously moved to Scotland and the port of Tallinn respectively. 

The background is, among other things, continued lower demand in the wake of the pandemic, along with expensive bunker oil (marine fuel), according to the company's press spokesperson Erika Janson. 

”This way we know we have a stable income for the off-season,” she says.

The decision also results in Silja Line Galaxy leaving Sweden, which has resulted in 265 employees being laid off.

”"In Sweden, we are losing Galaxy completely, as it is re-flagged to the Estonian flag. This means that the naval personnel in Sweden are being notified due to a shortage of work, which is very sad news, unfortunately," says Erika Janson. 

The company also released its interim report for the second quarter on Thursday, which shows that despite increased demand compared to the previous year, the Ukraine war has had a negative impact on demand during the second quarter. 

”"Given the uncertainties surrounding the recovery from the pandemic, as well as developments in the geopolitical situation, the business climate has improved, but remains challenging," the company writes in the quarterly report. 

The quarterly report also shows that revenue for the "other" segment, which is primarily driven by the rental of ferries for temporary accommodation, increased by 63.5 percent compared to the same quarter in 2021 to a total of EUR 32.9 million for the second quarter of 2022. The segment also returned to a positive EBITDA result compared to the first quarter of the year, from minus EUR 5.2 million to EUR 8.1 million. 

Source: DI.SE