Ferries to Estonia Are Becoming More Environmentally Friendly

Text Timo Raussi
Photo Eckerö Line / Kaupo Kalda 

Both Eckerö Line and Tallink, the ferry operators transporting passengers and cargo between Helsinki and Tallinn, have announced measures making crossings of the Gulf of Finland more environmentally friendly.

Eckerö Line is currently fitting the M/S Finlandia at the shipyard with a battery solution that reduces carbon dioxide emissions. This will make Finlandia the first hybrid passenger ship in the Gulf of Finland, operating partly on electricity. The battery, installed in a fireproof container on deck 9, will provide power while the ship is in port as well as when arriving and departing.

The company says this upgrade will reduce the Finlandia’s fuel consumption by about three percent, equivalent to saving 500–600 tons of fuel per year and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Meanwhile, Tallink Group CEO Paavo Nõgene announced last week that the company’s high-speed ships on the Helsinki–Tallinn route will now run exclusively on biomethane. According to Nõgene, this environmentally friendly transition will help Tallink reduce its emissions trading costs. From this year onward, ferry operators must purchase the full amount of emission allowances mandated by EU directives, as the Estonian government does not provide support to companies in the maritime sector.

Tallink’s passenger numbers on the Finland–Estonia route grew 1.8% last year compared with 2024. Summer was especially strong, with nearly 1.3 million passengers transported between Helsinki and Tallinn—almost a quarter of Tallink’s total 5.53 million passengers across all routes in 2025. Cargo transport, however, fell 20% year-on-year on the same route.

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