EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Port, Transport

In the first half-year, both the volume of goods and the number of passengers carried by DFDS increased by one%age point compared with the same period last year to 18.7 million lane meters and more than two million passengers, the company said.

The Shipping Division's EBITDA before special items increased 5% as North Sea benefited from continued growth in trading between UK, continental Europe and Scandinavia. The Baltic Sea route network also increased earnings and together offset a lower result in Channel driven by a weakening of the passenger market, following the depreciation of GBP, and a lower freight market share.

The head of the Estonian unit of DFDS, Peeter Ojasaar, said that the Hanko-Paldiski service launched in October 2016 made a contribution to the positive result of the Baltic Sea route network.

"Looking at the result of the first half-year, we can see clearly that the new ship route has become a solid addition to the extensive route network of DFDS, offering our customers a regular ro-ro connection to serve increasing freight flows of Finland and Central and Eastern Europe," Ojasaar said.

"We can also see a continued increase in freight flows in the Estonia-Sweden corridor, where the Paldiski-Kapellskar service has become an indispensable permanent link for many of our customers namely thanks to the ship's flexible and convenient timetable," Ojasaar added.

DFDS is the biggest sea transport and logistics company of the Nordic countries that operates 25 routes with 55 vessels in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. The Estonian subsidiary of DFDS operates the Paldiski-Kapellskar route with the ferry Liverpool Seaways making seven departures a week and the Paldiski-Hanko route with the ferry Sailor that makes nine departures per week.