Finland-based ferry company Viking Line is experiencing a growth in demand for freight transport onboard its ships, keeping its traffic volumes high despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the movement of goods.
The company’s passenger traffic has been slashed, however, a heavy volume of the freight traffic has managed to compensate for the fall to a certain degree.
“The utilisation rate of the ships’ cargo capacity has been 100% on several occasions. Our staff has done an especially good job loading the cargo”, says Harri Tamminen, Freight Director for Viking Line.
According to Tamminen, the busy freight traffic during the Easter holidays was a particularly positive surprise.
As explained, the traffic volume has continued to grow since Easter and the market shows no concrete indications of any volume reductions in the coming future.
At the moment, of the five Viking Line ships operating under the Finnish flag, M/S Viking Grace, M/S Amorella, M/S Rosella and M/S Gabriella are in operation and transporting cargo. The company said that the emphasis in cargo traffic at the moment is on guaranteeing the supply of food and medicines.
“We have been able to optimise the schedule to be followed during this exceptional period, both in terms of timetables and traffic frequency, through good co-operation with our customers and by taking into account the transport needs of the market. This way, we can do our part to help maintain the security of supply in Finland in the best possible way”, says Tamminen.