By
Laura Hyde |
Stena Line has acquired Wasaline and will take control of operations on the ferry route between Umeå in Sweden and Vaasa in Finland.
The agreement is subject to approval by the respective municipal councils of Umeå and Vaasa. The ferry route is jointly owned by the two cities through the company Kvarken Link, which owns the Finnish shipping company NLC Ferry, operating under the trade name Wasaline. The vessel Aurora Botnia, which serves the route, will continue to be owned by Kvarken Link.
“It is with great joy and enthusiasm that we at Stena Line take on the responsibility for Wasaline and the route between two important regions and cities, Umeå and Vaasa,” said Niclas Mårtensson, CEO of Stena Line. “With Wasaline, we not only gain a vessel equipped with the latest environmental technology and capable of sailing carbon-neutral on a regular basis, but we also enhance our access to alternative fuels. In addition, we gain a strong intermodal transport link toward Gothenburg and Trelleborg, and onwards to the European continent.”
The Umeå–Vaasa route became the first international green shipping corridor in July 2025 when Wasaline and Gasum signed a biogas contract and entered into a Fuel EU Maritime pooling agreement with Stena Line.
“It is strategically important to ensure that the service between Vaasa and Umeå continues and has the possibility to grow in the future,” said Peter Ståhlberg, CEO of Wasaline. “We look forward to continuing to develop our work on environmental and operational efficiency together with Stena Line. Wasaline’s staff, both onshore and onboard, will continue to deliver the same great service as today. This will be a major boost for the region, bringing significant positive synergies.”
The transaction is also conditional to customary closing conditions and is expected to take place in early 2026.