
A tough year for shipping companies
It’s been a difficult year for shipping companies. 2024 has been marked by stevedoring strikes, the war in Ukraine, tightening regulations and many other challenges. However, cargo volumes have remained stable and some minor growth can be expected in the coming year.
The unstable geopolitical situation in Europe, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the tightening of EU and other international regulations, and a growing need to invest in innovations and a greener future are all posing challenges to competitiveness and profitability in today’s market conditions.
“In these circumstances – when we are under pressure from rising prices, tighter regulations and economic uncertainty in our key markets – cargo traffic has at least remained, and continues to remain, stable. The market is not, however, showing any signs of growth. We are nevertheless ready to respond to growing demand whenever there is an upswing in the cargo market,” says Elise Nassar, a member of Tallink Grupp’s Management Board.
The number of cargo units transported on the Finland–Estonia route during the third quarter of 2024 decreased by 13 per cent on the corresponding period of 2023. However, the number of cargo units transported on the Helsinki–Stockholm route increased by 9.9 per cent over the same period.
“Taking total sales on all routes into account, the overall situation for cargo traffic has remained stable for the past couple of years.”
According to Nassar, Tallink Grupp expects a slight increase in cargo traffic volumes in 2025 and continued growth in 2026.
“As the climate crisis worsens alongside economic and geopolitical tensions, we’re seeking new technologies and solutions to combat climate change in order to remain a viable and profitable operator in the maritime transport industry,” says Nassar.
Tallink Grupp has chosen a risk management strategy that involves a combination of scheduled routes and leased vessels.

“This approach has helped us to achieve favourable results. Our financial results for the third quarter of 2024 demonstrate continued stability in spite of challenging market conditions.”
“Since pandemic travel restrictions were lifted, we have not yet reached the same kind of passenger figures that we achieved in 2019. This is, of course, partly due to the fact that we have fewer vessels running on scheduled routes than we did in 2019.”
Nassar says that MyStar has been the company’s biggest success in recent years. MyStar sails on the Tallinn–Helsinki route, and is the most modern and technologically advanced passenger-car ferry in the Baltic Sea.
“In addition to fluctuating fuel prices and VAT increases in both Estonia and Finland, as of 2025, Finnish fairway charges will rise by 100 per cent (compared to 2024 prices). This means that the fairway charges paid by shipping companies will double,” says Nassar.
“We’re seeking new technologies to combat climate change.”
“Greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping were also added to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) last year, that is, shipping companies operating between EU ports must purchase and surrender EU Allowances (EUAs) for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted by their vessels. Last year, 40 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions reported in 2024 will fall within the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System. We will then have to pay for 70 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions reported in 2025, and 100 per cent of those reported in 2026.
According to Nassar, the cost of carbon dioxide emissions will inevitably affect the price of cargo services, as it is impossible for the company to bear these costs whilst also investing in new technologies to meet ambitious climate targets.
Finnlines expects moderate growth in 2025
Like other shipping companies, Finnlines suffered from the lengthy stevedoring strike in the spring.
“The market fell into a deep slump during the first quarter. We’ve constantly been struggling with rising costs, but have attempted to keep them as low as possible in order to make a profit and maintain business continuity. So this has been a difficult year, but we can maybe expect moderate growth in 2025,” says Merja Kallio-Mannila, Commercial Director at Finnlines.
“The maritime sector reflects the market, so I don’t think the overall situation in Finland has changed, even though falling interest rates and fairly low inflation have helped. People don’t dare to make purchases, and have tightened their purse strings even further.”
Finnlines has a significant market share: more than 70 per cent of traffic between Finland and Germany when you take trailers and trucks into account. The fact that units are coming to Helsinki speeds up their delivery to customers. Mileage and emissions are likewise reduced.

“We aim to spend as little time as possible at port, and more time at sea, in order to consume as little fuel as possible and generate as few emissions as possible. All of our schedule changes have been made in the best interests of the environment, as we are sailing as economically as possible. The size of ships in general is growing all the time, which will enable us to transport larger volumes of cargo and make our per-unit emissions as low as possible.”
”All of our schedule changes have been made in the best interests of the environment.”
Finnlines plans to order three newropax vessels for the route between Helsinki and Travemünde. Kallio-Mannila says that the most promising fuel option at the moment is a methanolpowered vessel that can also run on diesel. This is not, however, an easy solution, as the per-ship cost for ropaxes is approximately EUR 200 million.
“With the advent of emissions trading, we must do everything in our power to invest in the latest technology and build a fleet that will benefit our customers and enable them to remain competitive.”
Eckerö’s market share has increased in spite of challenges
In the early year, Eckerö Line’s m/s Finlandia spent one and a half months in dock while the vessel’s rudder and propeller solutions were updated. This investment resulted in a more than 12 per cent reduction in fuel consumption during the first six months of 2024 compared to the corresponding period of 2023. However, the time that the ship spent in dock posed challenges during the early year, and particularly for cargo traffic.
“We were not, however, overly affected by the stevedoring strike, as we have made very little use of stevedoring services. The majority of our cargo consists of units with drivers,” says Tomas Sjödahl, Cargo Director at Eckerö Line.
“We have achieved significant growth in spite of the spring’s challenges. Since June, cargo volumes have risen so much that our ships are often full.”
The fact that there are two ports of departure – the West Harbour and Vuosaari – has a significant impact on Eckerö’s concept.
“Although our ships pass through different ports, they will naturally support each other schedule-wise and will never sail in the same direction at the same time. 60 per cent of our cargo traffic now passes through Vuosaari, which has always been our goal. The rest of the cargo is carried by Finlandia.”
Sjödahl says that the locations of the Vuosaari and Muuga harbours are ideal for Eckero’s clients. Both harbours have good transport connections and are close to the city centre. When a harbour’s infrastructure is entirely built around cargo traffic, it speeds up the port’s operations.
“The situation for cargo traffic at the West Harbour will change when construction work commences in Jätkäsaari. Traffic in Vuosaari will also be affected by the tunnel repairs that are scheduled to begin next summer. It’s going to be a challenging time.”
Sjödahl says that Eckerö’s forecast for 2025 is cautiously favourable.
“Imports into Finland have been sluggish for a long time, but at least from our perspective, exports have long remained at a good level. The Estonian market has been in a fairly poor state, but things are a bit better in Latvia and Lithuania.”
Good volumes for Viking in 2024
“Two ships have been sailing on the Helsinki–Stockholm route since March. Our customers have been very pleased with this, and have ‘rewarded’ us with good volumes this year. This is one favourable aspect of traffic passing through the Port of Helsinki,” says Harri Tamminen, Vice President of Cargo at Viking Line.
“Tallinn traffic has remained steady. The market has grown slightly and we’ve managed to claim our share of it. So this route is looking quite healthy.”
At the beginning of next year, Viking Line will dock some of the ships that are operating on its Helsinki–Stockholm route, and others will be transferred to different routes to optimise scheduled ferry traffic.
“We’re concerned about the adequacy of transport infrastructure both to and from ports.”
“I believe next year will see favourable trends in volumes compared to 2024.”
Tamminen says that environmental issues now arise in some way or another during every conversation with cargo customers. Customers are very aware and concerned – they want to know more about environmental issues. However, he says there is a lengthy process to be gone through before a more environmentally friendly or lower-emission product can be sold to cargo customers.
“You can always do a bit better and be more efficient. This will be on everyone’s agenda. The earlier you start, the more likely you are to be at the forefront in tackling future challenges. Our environmental efforts both go back a long way and look far into the future.”

“The cost level has increased significantly, and tough competition means that these higher costs cannot always be transferred to customer prices in full, even though we aim to do so.”
“We’re concerned about the adequacy of transport infrastructure both to and from ports. In order to operate at a port, we must be able to ensure good connections for all groups of vessel users, such as cargo customers. Due toa variety of road projects and restrictions, recent developments in Helsinki are somewhat concerning: have the benefits and needs of shipping – and not just Viking Line’s vessel traffic – been taken into account, and are they being developed in the right direction, with us and listening to us? It’s a worrying trend.”
A strong year for Maersk
“Global events are directly reflected in our oceanic traffic. As these vessels sail between continents, market conditions in Asia or China will have direct impacts on Europe. 2024 has been full of challenges, such as strikes and disruptions in global supply chains,” says Satu Lindeberg, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk Finland.
“Maersk has had a strong year in spite of the challenges. Our market position has remained stable, and we’ve even managed to increase our import and export volumes. We’re investing in our service level, and customer satisfaction is also at an excellent level,” says Lindeberg.
According to Lindeberg, the outlook for the Finnish export industry is currently quite challenging. Sluggish demand and production shutdowns have affected operations in the forestry industry in particular.
“We’re hoping for a better year in 2025. The international market situation and Finland’s competitiveness will largely determine how well Finnish companies will cope and what volumes can be transported by sea,” she says. Maersk will be developing its global cooperation with Hapag-Lloyd as part of their Gemini partnership, which will begin in February 2025.
“Above all, this collaboration will seek to improve the reliability of ship timetables. The timetables for ocean vessels only hold about 50 per cent of the time, which is unsustainable. We’re aiming for 90-per-cent reliability – which is ambitious, but necessary,” says Lindeberg.
This reliability target also includes intercontinental feeder traffic to Finland. Maersk is committed to a lowcarbon future, and has invested in new methanol-powered vessels. “We’ve ordered 16 methanol-powered ships for our oceanic fleet. Our 2000-TEU, methanol-powered feeder ships have already entered service in Scandinavia, but they’ve yet to be seen in Finland. Our goal is clear: sustainable solutions that meet our customers’ needs,” she says.