Finnish shipping firm Viking Line says it will continue service on its main freight routes from Finland to Sweden, Estonia and the autonomous Åland islands. Last week, the firm announced plans to shut down its Helsinki-Stockholm route due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, in a company announcement issued Monday, Viking Line’s freight director, Harri Tamminen, said the firm would continue freight service on its most important routes, despite the ongoing situation.
The firm will continue freight service between Helsinki and Tallinn as well as its Turku-Åland-Stockholm route.
"To safeguard the security of supply between Finland and Sweden, we are maintaining service on part of our routes. We are grateful for the understanding our cargo customers have shown us in this exceptional situation. We hope that the situation will normalize as soon as possible," Tamminen said.
The company said it was following instructions from Finnish and Estonian authorities regarding the state of emergency in Finland, which carries restrictions on cross-border traffic.
Five of Viking Line’s fleet of seven ships are Finnish-flagged.
“Two of them are in traffic for the time being. As the largest maritime employer in Finland, we take the security of supply in our country carefully into consideration and are prepared to provide freight services with additional Finnish ships, if necessary," the statement read.