“It simply came to our notice then. Because I worked for a long time – from 2014 to 2020, and now I am at home, ”says Monta Lejasbūda, an employee of the Isabelle Ferry Information Center.
The smile on Mont’s face doesn’t go out, even though the ship is standing and not moving. The Latvian flag is flying in the port of Tallinn, and this year Isabelle will not go on sea voyages from Riga to Stockholm. Instead, a team of 70 people, half of them from Latvia, will support Ukrainian war refugees, as the ferry is now a refugee hotel.
Cruises were suspended during Covid-19. The first flight to Stockholm was scheduled for April 6, but was later postponed to early June. Until this week, the company announcedthat flight will not be at all. On Tuesday afternoon, the ferry “Isabelle”, which has been an integral part of the Riga landscape for more than 15 years, left the port.
“The Riga-Stockholm route is 16 years old, and we canceled it with a heavy heart. But now, looking at the number of passengers, the uncertainties surrounding travel and especially the war in Ukraine and the geopolitical situation, as well as rising fuel prices … When we put it all together, we did not see the possibility of this route because we cannot do it successfully. ” explained Katri Linka, Head of Communications at Tallink.
2,500 passengers had already purchased tickets for the cruise Riga – Stockholm. The company is now contacting everyone to return the money or change the port of departure.
“I know others are trying to contact us, but they can’t. I am very sorry for that! We will offer alternatives to everyone. You will be able to go on other “Tallink” routes, go to Stockholm or Helsinki from Tallinn, you will be able to get your money back, “said Linka.
Tallink assured Latvian television that ferry traffic to Stockholm will not be resumed this year, but
it is hoped that the ferries will start running again in 2023.
“It’s a very important route for us, we’ve been building it for so many years and we don’t want to lose it. And we have very loyal customers in both Latvia and Sweden, and we want to offer easy travel between countries. And we will try to restore it, ”said Linka.
Covid-19 has weakened the tourism industry in many parts of the world and is making unpopular decisions. For example, due to rising fuel prices, a surcharge of three to six euros has been introduced for ferry tickets from Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm and Turku, depending on the type of ticket. But how the abolition of the ferry will affect tourism in Latvia is still difficult to predict.
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