What water separates, the ferry connects

How does a load of logs travel to Hailuoto, how does milk get picked up from an island in Saimaa, how do people get to their cottages in Mossala? Operating working connections in our land spotted with thousands of lakes and islands requires ferries. Finferries’ vessels, in fact, carry about 5 million vehicles and 10 million passengers each year.

From Destia to Finferries 

In a government general session on 15 October 2009, a decision was made to split Destia ferries into a separate company. The new company, named SuomenLauttaliikenneOy, FinlandsFärjetrafikAb in Swedish, started operating on 1 January 2010.

The shares of the new company are still owned, directly and in full, by the State of Finland. The reason for forming a separate company was the State’s desire to develop and improve the ferry operations.

Suomen Lauttaliikenne Oy, which also uses the shorter trade name Finferries in its communications, seamlessly continued the five ferry service management contract packages won by Destia in 2009 in Tiehallinto’s tendering process. The contracts for the maintenance of the ferries are three, five and ten years in length and include the procurement of new ferries and the renovation of the current ones. The contract value totals to 147 million euros. In addition, Suomen Lauttaliikenne also has a valid, previously agreed upon contract for the maintenance of the ferry sites of the Turku archipelago, which continue unchanged.

One leg in Soutwest Finland, the other in Savoa

The company’s home is Turku, where the headquarters are located. The Sea of Finland ferry and cable-ferry operation is also supervised from Turku. The ferries of the Finnish lakes are controlled by the Sulkavala office.

SuomenLauttaliikenne’s Managing Director is Mats Rosin. The company employs an average of 275 people. The ferry trips are free of charge for their users because the ferries are a part of Finland’s general road network.

Short ferry lesson

Finferries manages the ferry services in Finland with a total of 39 ferry sites. The maintained connections range from minor, secluded strait crossings to demanding sea passages: the shortest ferry ride is in Kivimo in Houtskär, spanning 169 meters, and the longest is a 9.5 km route from Korppoo to Houtskar.

The vessels are also different. The difference between a ferry boats and a cable ferry is the cable running through: a cable ferry runs along a navigation cable and the ferry boat is freely navigable. Cable ferries handle sea route connections in the Oulu coast to Hailuoto and in the Turku archipelago to Nauvo, Paraiset and Korppoo.

Welcome to a safe, responsible and precise ride with us!