The car and passenger ferry Regina Baltica, owned by the Estonian Tallink shipping company, struck a reef on Tuesday night in Lerkär in the Stockholm Archipelago, about 200 kilometres from the port of Kapellskär.
The damage to the hull of the ship was not seen as serious, and there was no initial leak. There were about 540 people on board the vessel when the accident occurred. Håkan Nordström, director of Tallink Finland Oy, said that the accident was probably caused by a technical problem that affected steering.
"The captain found it necessary to drop the anchor, but it apparently was not enough", Nordström said.
The ship was removed from the rock at about half past one in the morning. There were no reports of injuries on board.
The accident took place on the 11th anniversary of the fatal sinking of the car and passenger ferry Estonia - almost to the hour.
The Regina Baltica was built at the Finnish Wärtsilä shipyard in Turku in 1980, and it operates on the Stockholm-Tallinn route.
