Tough Q1 for Tallink, with passenger numbers, cargo units down

In the first quarter of 2025, the Tallink Grupp transported 970,359 passengers, 12 per cent less than in the same period last year, with losses in cargo and passenger vehicle transport volumes.

“In addition to the usual seasonality, the first-quarter passenger numbers reflect the state of the economies in our core markets,” said Paavo Nõgene, CEO of the Tallink Grupp.

"Consumer confidence remains low. Four vessels were out of service, and large-scale dry-docking had an impact on passenger numbers. A significant factor was also the timing of Easter, which fell in March last year and resulted in tens of thousands more passengers during the same period."

While the number of passengers decreased by 12 per cent in Q1 2025 compared to the same period last year, the volume of cargo units dropped by nearly 32 per cent to 57,830 units, and the number of transported passenger vehicles declined by about 11 per cent to 135,829 units.

Tallink’s vessels operated routes between Estonia and Sweden, as well as Finland and Sweden, during the first quarter.

On the Helsinki-Stockholm route, the cruise ferry Silja Serenade was out of operation for a total of 30 days due to maintenance work, while the cruise ferry Baltic Princess was off the Turku-Stockholm route for 21 days.

On the Estonia-Finland routes, transport volumes reflected the operations of the cruise ferry Victoria I and the shuttle ferries MyStar and Megastar, the latter of which was out of service for three days due to scheduled maintenance.

On the Estonia-Sweden route between Tallinn and Stockholm, the cruise ferry Baltic Queen continued its operations. The Paldiski-Kapellskär route was previously operated by the cargo ships Regal Star and Sailor, and since February, also by the passenger ferry Star I, which will move to Ireland in mid-April following a sale transaction.

Tallink said the future of the decommissioned cargo vessels remains uncertain at this stage.