Hansa Destinations temporarily discontinues Rostock-Stockholm route for 2023
Hansa Destinations announced on December 15, 2022 that the two routes Rostock-Nynäshamn (Stockholm) and Rostock-Visby will not be operated in 2023.
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Update: November 2023
According to a report in the Swedish newspaper Helagotland, the Rostock-Nynäshamn and Rostock Visby connections will not operate in 2024 either. It is therefore doubtful whether the route will start again at all or whether it has now been permanently discontinued.
Hansa Destinations has operated the service between Nynäshamn-Visby-Rostock since August 2021. And has now announced that the ferry service will not continue in 2023. The background to this decision is primarily the high cost of fuel.
Hansa Destinations subsidiary of Gotlandsbolaget
Hansa Destinations is a subsidiary of Gotlandsbolaget (Gotland Company), which also owns the shipping company Destination Gotland and has operated the service between Nynäshamn and Rostock. The service was carried out with the ship M/S Drotten and the chartered ships Eliana Marino and Cadena 3.
The aim was to offer freight customers, as well as passengers, an effective and sustainable solution for transportation and travel between the continent and the greater Stockholm area. Shifting transportation from road to sea is a great benefit for the environment and helps to reduce the number of trucks on the roads.
Hansa Destinations announces it will discontinue this service in 2023
“We have operated the line for almost 1.5 years and have been evaluating the profitability and outlook for some time. With the current fuel costs and the challenges we have had attracting cargo volumes, the traffic is not profitable and the outlook for 2023 does not add up financially. We do not have a solid business foundation. The low freight volume has also meant that the environmental benefits we were aiming for have not been achieved,” says Håkan Johansson, CEO of Gotlandsbolaget. “We will not operate the service between Nynäshamn and Rostock in 2023, but a new assessment will be made for 2024,” Håkan Johansson continues, “We still believe in a service between Nynäshamn – Visby – Rostock, which shifts the transportation of goods from road to sea and also provides a direct connection for passengers between Nynäshamn and Visby to the continent.
Significant savings for the environment can be achieved by shifting the transport of goods. With a more normal fuel price and positive interest from the market, we will consider reopening the route for 2024.”
Hansa Destinations has given passengers the opportunity to travel between Nynäshamn, Visby and Rostock. Passenger numbers have exceeded forecasts, but this has not compensated for the limited volume of cargo customers. The service will be discontinued after the arrival of the Eliana Marino in Rostock on December 18, 2022 and the M/S Drotten in Nynäshamn on January 4, 2023.
Hansa Destinations Ferry Eliana Marino – chartered by Moby Cargo
Alternative ferry routes
Due to the discontinuation of this ferry connection, which is very popular not only among Swedes, you have the possibility to use the following alternative routes:
Direct connections to Sweden
| Route | Provider | Duration & Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Ferry Rostock – Trelleborg | TT-Line Stena Line |
approx. 6 hours up to 8 times daily |
| Ferry Kiel – Gothenburg | Stena Line | approx. 14 hours 30 minutes daily |
| Ferry Travemünde – Trelleborg | TT-Line | approx. 8 hours up to 4 times a day |
| Ferry Travemünde – Malmö | Finnlines | approx. 8 hours 45 minutes up to 4 times a day |
| Ferry Travemünde – Karlshamn | TT-Line | approx. 16 hours 40 minutes up to 6 times a week |
Alternative routes via Denmark
| Route | Provider | Duration & Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Ferry Rostock – Gedser | Scandlines | approx. 2 hours up to 10 times a day |
| Ferry Puttgarden-Rödby | Scandlines | approx. 45 minutes up to 47 times a day |
Alternative route via Finland
| Route | Provider | Duration & Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Ferry Travemünde – Helsinki | Finnlines | approx. 29 hours daily |
Refunds for trips already booked
Hansa Destinations will provide a full fare refund to all affected passengers who already had an existing reservation for January 2023. Regardless of the ticket type (Mini, Flexi or FlexiPlus).
To do so, please contact Hansa Destinations customer service:
Hansa Destinations Customer Service
Please have your reservation number ready when you contact the shipping company.
Phone: +46 (0)771 702 550
Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 9:00 – 12:00 and 13:00 – 16:30.
E-mail: reservations@hansadestinations.com
Directferries bookings
All customers who have booked via Directferries should contact Directferries directly with their booking reference number (DF….):
de@directferries.com
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Conclusion
This decision on the part of Hansa Destinations is a great pity. Especially for vacation travelers heading north. We very much hope that Hansa Destinations will resume the routes by 2024 at the latest.
What do you say? Were you planning to travel to Sweden with Hansa Destinations this year? Which alternative route is now your favorite. Write it to us in the comments.
