MAREK GRZYBOWSKI write to ” Blue Economy ” : Birka Cruises – the first victim of a pandemic in the Baltic Sea

Marek Grzybowski

The passenger operator Birca Cruises did not wait until the 50th anniversary. After 49 years of activity on the maritime tourism market, it closes operations and 500 people lose their jobs. Its competitor – Tallink Silja reduces employment and tries to save business by launching new cruises.

Over 300 Finns will lose their jobs at ferry companies – alarm Finnish media. The shipowners survived three months of crisis thanks to the financial drip of the governments of Sweden and Finland. However, the season did not start in June enough to compensate for the losses suffered in the first half of the year.

The coronavirus killed the first of the Baltic operators who lived off sea tourism. Closed borders, dead ferry terminals, and closed  shops and bars on passenger ships meant that despite state aid, shipowners could not withstand the COVID-19 attack.

Birca Cruises did not even help that the company was registered in the Åland Islands. The shipping operator Eckerö put MS Birka Stokholm on moorings and closed its subsidiary Birka Cruises. MS Birka Stokholm is a luxury passenger ship with a length of 177m and a width of 28m with an ice class Super 1 A.

There were 715 cabins for 1,500 passengers. A night club on the ship, hall and restaurants were built according to Lervik Design projects. The decor of the bars and cabins is inspired by the interior design of the Åland Islands. Birka Stokholm permanent route is Stockholm-Mariehamn in the Åland Islands. Always at least 25% cheaper than in land – operator advertised cruises to Mariehamn and urged to buy  bargain jewelry, fashion, good wines, perfumes and goodies.

Tallink Silja and Viking Line also provided connections to the Åland Islands ports from Stockholm and Turku. Tallink announced cruises on the Romantika ship (727 cabins, 2,500 passengers) offering direct connections from Riga to the island of Saaremaa and the Åland Islands in July. The shipowner is fighting to maintain sea tourism on the Baltic Sea.

Tourists will be able to spend 9 hours on the Åland Islands, and 12 hours on the island of Saaremaa. The offer includes two cruises: July 18: Riga-Aland-Riga and July 26: Riga-Saaremaa-Riga. Until now, MS Romantika carried passengers on the Stockholm-Riga route and such an offer is still on the operator’s website. Today the ship is mooring in Riga and waiting for passengers.

Viking Line has decided to review its HSE (health, safety and environmental) safety procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. DNV GL ensured the accreditation of Viking Line ships and passenger terminals. My Care framework has been developed to support companies in assessing, managing and mitigating infection risk in their management systems, business processes and operations – expalins DNV GL. 

A competitor on these routes, Silja Line also announced that it is reducing staff on ships and on land. The Swedish subsidiary of the Estonian company Tallink, known as Tallink Silja Sverige, dismisses 299 employees, including 69 Finns. This is mainly a reduction of crews, because most of the dismissed worked on passenger ferries Silja Galaxy and Silja Symphony.  Silja provided services between Finland and Sweden.

Who’s next? Let’s hope that the rest of the companies in the Baltic Sea region will survive the drought in passenger transport and the tourist season. Shipowners hope that passenger tourism in the Baltic Sea will revive in the second half of the year.