Finland’s largest employer in maritime transport, Viking Line, has been named Transport Company of the Year. The honour was awarded at the annual Finnish Travel Gala.

On Friday, Viking Line was named Transport Company of the Year at the Finnish Travel Gala. The award is handed out by the Association of Finnish Travel Industry , and the winners were chosen through the voting of experts and members of the public.

“This is a big honour for all of us more than 2,000 Viking Line employees and wonderful recognition of our long-term efforts. Over the years, we have invested in domestic sourcing, among other things, and all five of our vessels sail under a Finnish flag. Every encounter with customers is important to us, and our customer satisfaction is higher than ever,” says Jan Hanses, a member of the board, who is Viking Line’s acting CEO until November 2.

Viking Line works with great focus to reduce its environmental impact. This past summer, the company presented a concept for the world’s largest fully electric-powered car ferry. The plan is for this Helios concept to serve the busy Helsinki–Tallinn route, which could be realized in the early 2030s.

“Even now, people can pay a supplementary fee to travel, arrange meetings and transport goods completely fossil-free on all our vessels. This year, we have increased our purchases of renewable biofuel sixfold. Emission-free maritime transport is no longer a utopia, which was the case only a few years ago, and we want to be pioneers in this field.”

Last year, 4.6 million passengers and nearly 1.8 million tonnes of goods were transported on Viking Line’s five vessels – Viking Cinderella, Gabriella, Viking Glory, Viking Grace and Viking XPRS. The company had a market share of 43 per cent on the Helsinki–Stockholm route and 70 per cent on the Turku-Stockholm route. Viking Line is Finland’s largest employer in maritime transport, and its vessels – registered in the Finnish Ship Registry – are an important part of Finland’s international transport and security of supply.