Finnlines Launches Low-Emission Sea Transportation Service

Finnish shipping company Finnlines has decided to launch a low-emission sea transportation service, which combines sustainability with efficient carriage of freight.

As part of the new Green Lane service, there will be two options for new low-emission shipments: electricity or biofuels.

The 100% electricity-powered shipments will be available on the busy Naantali–Kapellskär route, which is operated by Finnlines’ newest hybrid roll-on/roll-off passenger (RoPax) ships Finnsirius and Finncanopus.

The ships’ 5 MWh batteries are charged with onshore power while at berth, and the energy is utilized at sea to replace fossil fuel, thus enabling green transportation for certain freight units.

”Our utmost goal is to reduce emissions and we are already seeing concrete results. With the introduction of our new vessels, Finnsirius and Finncanopus, we have entered the hybrid era and can now offer our customers even more efficient and sustainable sea transport services. Although the cargo capacity of the vessels operating on the Naantali–Kapellskär route has increased significantly, yet absolute carbon dioxide emissions per nautical mile have decreased by 22%,” Antonio Raimo, Line Manager at Finnlines, commented.

Moreover, the other green service option utilizes biofuels derived from renewable sources. The service will be available on short-sea shipping routes, which are of the utmost importance for the security of supplies in the Baltic Sea region, i.e. Naantali–Kapellskär, Malmö–Travemünde, Malmö– Świnoujście and Hanko–Gdynia.

By choosing the biofuel option, Finnlines commits to replacing the amount of fossil fuel needed for transportation with biofuel. Use of biofuels can reduce well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions of transport by up to 90% compared with conventional fossil fuels.

”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 service will also be available for passengers on Finnlines’ passenger routes: 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 fossil fuels and the emissions per a passenger on the route will decline.

Finnlines has invested massively in enhancing energy efficiency and renewal of its fleet. Recently, Finnlines has ordered three new methanol-powered vessels, which are expected to enter the route between Helsinki and Travemünde in 2028-2029.

”In April we announced of a new investment programme, which consists of three methanol-powered ro-pax vessels to enter the route between Finland and Germany. These new and previous investments will enable us to offer our customers fossil-free freight transportation. This has raised great interest and we are confident that the demand will grow in the future,” Thomas Doepel, President and CEO at Finnlines, highlighted.

The low-carbon Green Lane will be launched for freight customers and passengers on May 22, 2025.