In 2025, Viking Line served 4.6 million passengers with its five vessels and transported a record volume of freight. The company strengthened its position on the Helsinki routes, increased its use of biogas tenfold and introduced a concept for the world’s largest electric car and passenger ferry.
A total of 4,608,573 passengers travelled on Viking Line vessels in 2025. Passenger numbers declined slightly from 2024, by 0.8 percent. However, the number of passengers on Birka Gotland, which is jointly owned by Viking Line and Gotlandsbolaget, increased by about 30 percent to 570,513 compared with its shorter first operating year in 2024. The vessel mainly operates cruises from Stockholm to Mariehamn.
Passenger numbers on the Helsinki–Stockholm route increased by 12 percent to 808,787. At the same time, Viking Line strengthened its market share on the route to 47 percent. Passenger numbers reached 1,823,917 on the Helsinki–Tallinn route and 1,944,798 on the Turku–Stockholm route. A total of 509,634 passenger cars were transported on the company’s five vessels.
“Consumers in our markets have been cautious, although toward the end of the year we already saw signs of recovery. Highlights for us included a 13.5 percent increase in the share of international passengers as well as continued improvements in customer satisfaction, which reached record levels during the summer season on all routes. This reflects our investments in services and personnel as well as successful investments in our vessels. For example, the extensive upgrades carried out on Viking XPRS early in the year further increased the appeal of this popular vessel on the highly competitive Helsinki–Tallinn route,” says Peter Hellgren, Deputy CEO of Viking Line.
Viking Line Increased Its Freight Market Share
Last year, Viking Line transported a record 139,484 freight units. The volume increased by nearly 4 percent compared with 2024.
“In the current uncertain economic climate, we are very pleased with the strong performance of our freight operations. This is based on long-standing and successful partnerships with our customers. They trust us, and we continue to develop new solutions for them, most recently a fossil-free transport option,” says Harri Tamminen, Head of Freight.
60,000 Tonnes Less Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Last year Viking Line made significant progress in reducing emissions and promoting the development of future emission-free maritime transport. The company increased its use of biogas tenfold to approximately 6,000 tonnes, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60,000 tonnes. Thanks to the increased use of biogas, passengers and freight customers were able for the first time to choose a carbon-neutral transport option on all routes.
In June, Viking Line introduced the Helios electric vessel concept designed for the Helsinki–Tallinn route. If realised, the world’s largest electric passenger car ferry would make it possible to open a green shipping corridor across the Gulf of Finland as early as the early 2030s.
Passenger Numbers by Route in 2025
- Helsinki–Tallinn: 1 823 917 passengers
- Helsinki–Mariehamn–Stockholm: 808 787 passengers
- Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm: 1 944 798 passengers
- Cruises on special routes: 31 071 passengers
- Total passengers: 4 608 573
- Birka Gotland (jointly owned with Gotlandsbolaget): 570 513 passengers
Translated by Editorial Team.
Source: Viking Line
