Finnlines launches low-emission biofuel and electricity freight service

Finnish shipowner Finnlines has launched a new low-emission maritime transport service, that integrates biofuels and electric propulsion.

IMAGE: Finnlines

This initiative is part of the company’s broader decarbonisation strategy aimed at combining “sustainability with efficient carriage of freight,” it said. “There will be two options for new low emission shipments, electricity or biofuels.”

Finnlines' fully electric shipments will operate on the high-traffic Naantali–Kapellskär route, operated by its hybrid roll-on/roll-off passenger (RoPax) vessels, Finnsirius and Finncanopus. The ships are equipped with shore power systems, the company said.

Besides, the other service option that uses bio-based renewable fuels will be available on short-sea shipping routes including the Naantali–Kapellskär, Malmö–Travemünde, Malmö– Świnoujście and Hanko–Gdynia routes, which are of the utmost importance for the security of supplies in the Baltic Sea region,” Finnlines said.

“Both solutions ensure low emissions – for example using biofuel can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 700 kg per a trailer on the Hanko–Gdynia route,” Merja Kallio-Mannila, commercial director at Finnlines said.

The same service will also be available for passenger routes including Naantali–Långnäs–Kapellskär, Helsinki–Travemünde, Malmö–Travemünde and Malmö–Świnoujście. If passengers choose this option, Finnlines will consume renewable biofuels to replace the corresponding volume of oil-based fuels like VLSFO and LSMGO, it said.

In April, Finnlines ordered three new methanol-capable RoPax vessels, which are expected to enter service between Helsinki, Finland and Travemünde, Germany in 2028-2029.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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