Swedish ferry operator Stena Line has acquired the operations of the ferry and RoRo terminal in the Port of Ventspils, Latvia, in the latest move supporting the group’s long-term expansion in the growing Baltic Sea region.
Stena Line has operated the route between Ventspils and Nynäshamn, Sweden since 2012 as one of the company’s strategic sites in the Baltic Sea.
“The Baltic Sea is a major growth region for Stena Line and our investment in Ventspils shows how committed we are to develop our business with Latvia”, says Niclas Mårtensson , CEO of Stena Line.
“With this strategic move we have secured a long-term position in an essential part in our European network and I am looking forward to working with our customers and partners to continue expanding in the region”.
The company said that the growing customer demand on the route connecting Latvia and Sweden recently called for a capacity boost through two ferries – Stena Baltica and Stena Scandica. These extended ferries added 30 percent of freight capacity on the route.
A similar expansion was made to the route Liepaja, Latvia – Travemünde, Germany in 2021 and 2022, adding 40 percent freight capacity through the introduction of Stena Livia and Stena Flavia, also shortening the crossing time substantially.
The company’s Baltic Sea expansion also includes the opening of a new route between Nynäshamn, Sweden and Hanko, Finland in February 2022.
The Norvik Port in Nynäshamn, just south of Stockholm, Sweden has recently expanded, adding critical capacity and infrastructure which supports Stena Line’s operations to both Latvia and Finland.
During 2022, the company also took delivery of two all-new E-Flexer ferries – the Stena Estelle and Stena Ebba for use on its growing route between Karlskrona, Sweden and Gdynia, Poland.
The Verkö Port in Karlskrona has recently gained added capacity while the Port of Gdynia inaugurated an all-new terminal last year.
The acquisition of the ferry and RoRo port operations is subject to authority approval for competition compliance. Commercial details of the agreement will not be disclosed, Stena Line said.