Passenger ships from Estonia to stop selling alcohol and tobacco in Finnish waters

print this

Passenger ships sailing between Finland and Estonia will soon have to stop selling alcoholic beverages and tobacco while in Finnish waters.
      On-board duty free sales will end when Estonia becomes a member of the EU on Saturday. However, ships will continue to sell the same goods, at prices which include the Estonian excise tax - which is fairly low by Finnish standards.
      Under the new regulations, sales at Estonian prices will not be allowed while the ships are in Finnish territorial waters. As a result many of the stores on board can be closed for about one third of the crossing.
     
The high-speed vessels spend between 20 to 40 minutes in Finnish waters during a crossing between Helsinki and the Estonian capital Tallinn. The larger, slower passenger ships spend about an hour. During those times on-board shops will either be closed, or will not sell alcohol or cigarettes.
      The ships’ bars and restaurants will serve alcoholic beverages and sell up to two packs of cigarettes per passenger while in Finnish waters.
      To compensate for the ban on sales in Finnish waters, the shipping companies will keep the shops open even after the vessels have docked in Tallinn. Until now the shops have only been open while the ships are at sea.
     
The end of duty-free sales nevertheless poses considerable challenges for shipping lines operating passenger services between Estonia and Finland.
      Håkan Nordström, CEO of Eckerö Line, says that the companies will have to attract more passengers and sell more goods on board to shore up the gap.
      The companies have come up with new ways to make it easier for passengers to make purchases.
      On some vessels, passengers with cars can place orders before departure or during the crossing, and the goods are delivered straight to their vehicles on the car deck. Some shipping lines will also open shops at the passenger terminal in Tallinn.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Programme aimed at reducing harm of increased alcohol consumption (28.4.2004)
  Cheaper alcohol sparks surge in retail sales nationwide (12.3.2004)
  Finnish retailers fear competition from EU-Estonia (12.1.2004)
  EU alcohol import quotas lifted - no big rush yet (2.1.2004)
  Finnish alcohol consumption second-lowest in EU (17.6.2003)

Helsingin Sanomat