New Ferry Connection from Rostock to Stockholm Starts at the End of August

The Swedish company ‘Rederi AB Gotland’ will launch a new ferry line for freight and passenger traffic between the Swedish capital Stockholm (Nynäshamn) and Rostock under the name ‘Hansa Destinations’ at the end of August. The launch will feature one ship and three departures a week in both directions. The goal is to offer daily departures with the deployment of a second ship.

(Rostock/Stockholm) ‘ROSTOCK PORT sees this new connection, which will expand the variety of routes, as a crucial turning point for the future and anticipates significant additional volumes benefiting the location. Rostock is increasingly becoming the central logistics hub in Northern European traffic. From the port of Rostock, all relevant markets in Northern Europe can be reached. This is unique for a Baltic Sea port,’ explains Dr. Gernot Tesch, Managing Director of the port operator ROSTOCK PORT.

In the first step, the line will be served by one ship with departures from Stockholm-Nynäshamn on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Departures from Rostock will take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. It is planned to offer daily departures in both directions through the deployment of a second ship. The crossing duration between Stockholm and Rostock is approximately 18 hours (departure in the early evening, arrival the next day around noon). Particularly interesting for passenger traffic: It is planned to also call at the port of Visby on the island of Gotland on certain departures.

Further Connections to Scandinavia

‘Rostock, as the largest German ferry passenger port with several routes to Northern Europe, is thus also expanding its offerings for ship travelers in ferry passenger traffic with an attractive connection between the old Hanseatic cities of Stockholm and Visby,’ adds ROSTOCK PORT Managing Director Jens A. Scharner.

Rostock’s Mayor Claus Ruhe Madsen also expresses his delight and emphasizes: ‘Rostock once again shows that it is a gateway to the world. I find it impressive that we were ultimately able to prevail in competition with other potential locations! We now have another connection towards Scandinavia and thus new opportunities for cooperation with companies and institutions from the Stockholm area.’

Politics Also Welcomes the New Connection

Infrastructure Minister Christian Pegel welcomes the decision of the Swedish ferry company Rederi AB Gotland to choose Rostock as the destination port for a new ferry line between the Swedish capital and Germany: ‘The establishment of the new ferry line underscores the importance of Rostock as a capable ferry port location and as an important transport hub on the German Baltic Sea coast. The core network corridors Scandinavia-Mediterranean and Orient-Eastern Mediterranean defined by the EU Commission lead through the routes Rostock-Berlin and Hamburg-Berlin and the core network port Rostock. In this respect, the new line completes an existing network and enriches Baltic Sea traffic. It contributes in Sweden to a transport and environmentally desired shift of freight traffic from road to sea – trucks and cars from the Stockholm area will no longer have to drive to the southern Swedish port of Trelleborg. This benefits Europe as a whole,’ Christian Pegel is convinced.

In the overseas port of Rostock, the new ferry service will be positioned at the southeasternmost berth of the ferry terminal in basin A. ‘The new construction of berth 51 was only completed last year, and the adjacent cross quay of berth 50 has been equipped with new RoRo ramps,’ explains Götz Strahl, Head of Port Logistics at ROSTOCK PORT.

Photo: © Hansa Destinations