Number of cruises to Estonia shows substantial growth

In recent months, cruises from Helsinki to Tallinn and back have once again become more and more popular, while the new generation of high-speed vessels are gradually replacing the old ships.
     
Cheap prices and the Old Town of the Estonian capital still attract Finns who board the passenger ferries in the evening, spend the night in the bars and in their cabins, make inexpensive purchases in Tallinn in the morning, and return to Helsinki in the afternoon.
      According to the preliminary information released by Statistics Finland, the number of Finnish visitors to Tallinn was 69,000 in February 2008, showing a growth of some 80 per cent compared with the same period last year.
      The shipping lines estimate that the growth could be attributable to the thick ice covering the Gulf of Finland in the previous winter as well as to the fact that car ferry operator Tallink’s new generation high-speed cruise ship Star started its services in April 2007. The new vessel can take up to 1,900 passengers.
      The Star sails from Helsinki to Tallinn around the year and carries considerably more passengers over the Gulf of Finland than do other high-speed ferries, which can accommodate only a few hundred passengers and frequently have to stay in port because of rough weather conditions.
     
Currently, the passenger ships sailing the Helsinki-Tallinn run are going through a generation change, when new faster and bigger vessels are replacing the old ferries.
      Tallink’s Star will soon have a new sister ferry M/S Superstar accommodating up to 2080 passengers, while the rival ferry operator Viking Line is to launch a new high-speed cruise ferry M/S Viking XPRS with room for up to 2,500 people. The new vessel is currently being finished at the Aker Finnyards in Helsinki’s Hietalahti.
      The shipping lines promise that the new passenger ferries’ crossing time from Helsinki to Tallinn will be two hours, regardless of weather.
      Based on telephone interviews, the shipping companies report that they believe in the increasing traffic between the two capitals, as a substantial number of crossings over the Gulf of Finland have already been booked for the next few months.
     
This week also saw the resumption of regular helicopter links between the two capitals, when Copterline began services in an Italian Agusta helicopter seating 12 passengers.
      Scheduled helicopter traffic ceased just under three years ago, in the wake of an accident involving a Copterlines Sikorsky S-76 helicopter that went down in the sea off Tallinn Harbour, killing all 14 people on board.
      The trip by chopper takes between 16 and 20 minutes, and services will be increased from the autumn when Copterlines takes delivery of a second Agusta.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Rising fuel costs increase prices of crossings over Gulf of Finland (18.5.2006)

Links:
  Statistics Finland
  Tallink Group
  Tallink and Silja
  Viking Line
  Copterline