Ports consider ship connection between North East Estonia and South East Finland

The North East Estonian Sillamäe and Kunda ports are interested in restoring the ship connection with South East Finnish town Kotka, hoping that it would have a positive effect on the development of both regions.

There was a ship connection between Sillamäe and Kotka in the previous decade latest and now restoring it is again on the agenda.

Besides the Helsinki-Tallinn ship connection, Eastern ship route is needed by both tourists and cargo transporters.

While the ship could sail to Kotka directly from Kunda, from Sillamäe it would have to sail in Estonian coastal waters till almost Kunda and then from West of the Daughter Islands, to Kotka and the ship traffic would be around two hours longer.

Sillamäe port marketing director Andrei Birov says that the problem is solvable. "If you have good relations with your partners in the European Union and Russia, you can always solve these issues," said Birov.

Sillamäe port thinks that the ship could start sailing at once, only the operator would have to be found.

Kunda port director Aleksander Nikolajev says that both Sillamäe-Kotka and Kunda-Kotka routes have their own ideas and perspectives. "We see our possibilities in focussing on movement of cargo and developing the direct connection. Colleagues from Sillamäe focus more on passenger transport and tourism," he said.

Baltic Course