Passenger shipping is launched on the route Sillamäe-Kotka

Since May 17, 2006, Sillamäe-Kotka route, that has been dedicated to cargo shipping until now, is open also for passenger traffic, announced operator Narva Line LLC.

The project manager of Narva Line LLC Mr. Karl Kolk said, that the interest towards passenger shipping has been increasing since opening of the route. “It is good, that from now on we can also comply with the wishes. In June additional daily and shorter trips will be added to the schedule, which might be attractive to tourists”, said Kolk. “The business focus is as before on cargo shipping, but our nice, clean and cozy ship should also meet the expectations of a tourist. In summer, there are also various events on both side of the sea, where we try our best to help out with transportation issues”, Kolk added.

The departures from Port of Sillamäe are scheduled at 20 o’clock on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The departure times from Port of Kotka are at 20 o’clock on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The nightly trips last approximately 12 hours.

There will be a new and more frequent schedule on the route starting from June 1, 2006. Departures from Sillamäe will be scheduled at 8:00 on working days and at 12:00 on Sundays. From Kotka the ship will depart at 21 o’clock every working day and Sunday. The daily trips from Sillamäe will last about six hours, while the nightly trips from Kotka will be approximately nine hours.

There will be a special event in port of Kotka with a mini-fair on board of the vessel in order to celebrate the opening of the passenger shipping service on the route Sillamäe-Kotka on May 17th, 2006.

On the shipping route operated by Narva Line OÜ (the subsidiary of Saaremaa Laevakompanii), the ship operation is the passenger and cargo vessel Vironia, built in Norway in 1977. The ship is 158 meters long and 21.6 meters wide. Vironia (formerly known as Star Wind) accommodates altogether 370 passengers and 940 line meters of vehicles. There are 69 berths; the speed of the ship is 18.5 knots. Silja Line was operating that ship through its subsidiary Seawind on the shipping routes Turkku - Stockholm, and Tallinn - Helsinki. Since autumn 2005 the ship belongs to Euro Shipping OÜ.

Saaremaa Laevakompanii was founded in 1992; the company has operated ferryboat connections between the mainland and West-Estonia islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. In 2005 the subsidiary of SLK, SSC Ferries, opened an international shipping route Saaremaa-Ventspils that has started its second season in May 2006. Saaremaa Laevakompanii operates 12 ships altogether on different shipping routes.

Additional information:
Karl Kolk
Gsm: +372 52 86866
E-post: [email protected]