To reinforce Stena Line’s positions in the Baltic Sea region and expand ferry services, the company has acquired ferry terminal services at Ventspils Freeport, as confirmed by Stena Line representatives.
This is one of the steps to help modernise ferries and create new ferry routes. Lately Stena Line has performed massive investments in this direction.
The purchase in Latvia continues the company’s plan to ensure sustainable expansion in the Baltic Sea region.
Stena Line already services the ferry route connecting Latvia’s Ventspils and Sweden’s Nynäshamn.
The company’s latest announcement about the acquisition of ferry terminal right in Ventspils affirm the commitment to support Ventspils, which is one of the company’s most strategically important ports in the Baltic Sea.
Direct ferry terminal ownership rights in Ventspils will allow Stena Line to expand in Latvia.
Stena Line CEO Niklass Mortensons notes that the Baltic Sea is an important growth region for the company. “Our investments into Ventspils affirm our commitment to developing our business in Latvia. With this strategic step we have ensured long-term positions in an important portions of the European network, and I hope for cooperation with our clients and partners to continue expanding in this region,” he said.
The rapidly growing demand on the route connecting Latvia and Sweden warranted an increase of capacity, with two new ferries joining the route – Stena Baltica and Stena Scandica.
These expanded ferries have 30% more freight capacity. They also provide new and modern cruise experience for up to 970 passengers on each ferry.
Similar expansion was previously completed on the route connecting Latvia’s Liepaja and Germany’s Travemünde in 2021 and 2022, when the route was expanded with ferries Stena Livia and Stena Flavia.
This helped expand freight capacity by 40%, as well as shorten the cruise time.
The company’s expansion in the Baltic Sea also includes the opening of a new route connecting Sweden’s Nynäshamn and Finland’s Hanko in February 2022.
Clients welcomed the opening of new routes, which has resulted in increased freight volumes. There has also been an increase of the number of passengers that travel together with their cars.
It should be added that the Port of Norwich, which is directly south of Stockholm has expanded recently, significantly increasing its capacity and developing its infrastructure.
In 2022 the company was supplied with two new E-Flexer ferries – Stena Estelle and Stena Ebba. These are planned to be used on the rapidly growing route connecting Sweden’s Karlskrona and Poland’s Gdynia.
Also read: Stena Line deploys brand new ferry on Ventspils-Nynäshamn Baltic Sea route