Viking Line to demonstrate Baltic Sea’s first green corridor

Finnish shipping company Viking Line revealed plans to run vessels serving the Turku route on liquefied biogas (LBG) for the first time.

As informed, passenger vessels Viking Glory and Viking Grace will operate on biogas during the week starting with the Baltic Sea Day — celebrated every year on the last Thursday in August.

The ships are expected to reduce their emissions by 90% during the trial.

According to the company, Viking Glory and Viking Grace will demonstrate what the future looks like for the first green shipping corridor on the Baltic Sea. Viking Line will celebrate Baltic Sea Day by introducing the first green corridor between Turku and Stockholm, for one week.

The climate-smart Viking Glory and Viking Grace will only use LBG as a fuel from August 29 to September 4, which will reduce the vessels’ carbon dioxide emissions by 90% compared to liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is normally used.

During the week, a total of about 2,600 fewer tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions will be generated than normally. The reduction corresponds to the annual average carbon dioxide footprint for 270 Finns.

“This is an historic moment for us, the Baltic Sea and maritime transport. Scheduled service has never before been powered solely by biofuel. We have invested 450 million euros in our climate-smart vessels Viking Grace and Viking Glory, and one of their most important features is that they can run on LNG, biofuel and future synthetic fuels produced from renewable energy. Such significant environmental measures are the result of our long-term work,” Dani Lindberg, Viking Line’s Sustainability Manager, commented.

For one year now, Viking Line has offered its passengers and its conference and cargo customers the option of purchasing biofuel corresponding to the amount of fuel used for their travel. This reduces emissions by 90% per passenger or cargo unit.

Normally, LNG is used on the Turku route, and this fuel has significantly lower nitrogen oxide emissions than the heavy fuel oil traditionally used on vessels. Both LNG and LBG liquefied biogas generate virtually no harmful sulfur or particle emissions. Viking Line’s biogas is supplied by Gasum, which makes the fuel from food and agricultural waste. The biogas is produced in Europe, and the origin of each gas consignment is clearly documented.

“We have already operated Viking Grace using biogas on our Turku route, and passengers and cargo customers on Viking Glory and Viking Grace also already have the option to purchase biogas when they book their trip to offset the fuel used for their own travel and thus reduce the emissions for their trip by up to 90 per cent. Now, for the first time, we are operating for a whole week using only biogas, which is unique. There is still limited access to renewable fuels, and the price for such fuels is at least twice as high compared to LNG. It is important to create demand in order for supply to rise and the price to fall,” Lindberg added.

Viking Line is involved in efforts to develop a green sea corridor between Turku and Stockholm and between Helsinki and Tallinn. These green corridors are routes where the transport of both cargo and passengers is carbon-neutral.

Emission reductions in maritime transport are regulated in part by the EU’s Fit for 55 program for a green transition and the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) as well as the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) strategy for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.