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March 9, 2024

After having spent more than three years in limbo due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Baltic cruise ship Birka Stockholm is set to make a return this year under a new name and management.

Built in 2004 at Aker Finnyards in Rauma as the Birka Paradise, the ship has been operating short cruises in the Northern Baltic Sea successfully for 15 years. Mostly employed on 22 h cruises between Stockholm and Mariehamn (Åland islands), the vessel has also diverted to destinations such as Visby/Gotland, Rønne/Bornholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and Riga in the summer time or on special occasions on voyages lasting up to three or four days. Unlike her long-time competitor Viking Cinderella (Viking Line) which technically remained a car ferry after giving up her original role, the Birka Paradise has been designed solely for the purpose of short cruises, boasting a capacity for 1,800 passengers, but no car deck. During these 15 years, the vessel (renamed Birka Stockholm in 2013) has been owned by Birka Cruises of Mariehamn, a subsidiary of Rederi AB Eckerö which is also engaged in car ferry traffic between Finland, Sweden and Estonia.

On 15 March 2020, the cruises of the Birka Stockholm ceased due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the vessel was laid up in Mariehamn. When it became apparent that there was no chance to resume operations profitably in the near future, Birka Cruises in July 2020 decided to shut down operations altogether and put the Birka Stockholm up for sale. All employees but a skeleton lay-up crew were dismissed.

Apart from a routine shipyard stay for class work in February and March 2022 at Öresundsvarvet Landskrona, Birka Stockholm remained laid up in Mariehamn with her future being uncertain. Designed for short cruises in colder waters (with small cabins and only limited open deck space), the scope of operators interested in the ship for further use was limited. At one time it was reported that Rederi AB Eckerö would convert the ship into an ice-strengthened expedition vessel, but for that purpose, she was not only too big but even after altering her cabin configuration would also still have boasted too large a passenger capacity to cruise to destinations where dozens rather than hundreds of passengers were allowed to go ashore at the same time. After all, the Birka Stockholm’s future looked bleak unless a Scandinavian or Canadian operator turned up to show some interest in her at last.

Fortunately, that is exactly what happened in early 2023, three years after her competitor Viking Cinderella had resumed cruise operations on the route that she had share with the Birka Stockholm previously. On 27th March 2023, the Birka Stockholm was sold to Rederi AB Gotland (“Gotlandsbolaget”) for EUR 38 million, the latter being one of Sweden’s oldest shipping companies which under the “Destination Gotland” banner runs ferry and fast ferry operations between the Swedish mainland and Gotland’s capital Visby. Gotlandsbolaget formally took over the Birka Stockholm in April, reflagged her to Sweden and announced that they were willing to bring the ship back to active cruise service with a focus on short cruises from Visby.

At the same time and also in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Viking Line by late 2022 had disposed of two large car ferries and in 2023 was one ship short on its ferry network between Sweden and Finland. It therefore was a win-win situation when on 09th August 2023, Rederi AB Gotland and Viking Line jointly announced that as from spring 2024, they would manage the short cruises of the former Birka Stockholm together. Viking Line acquiring a 50% stake in the operation for EUR 19 million, the two companies embarked on forming a joint management company called Gotland Ålandia Cruises – with a shared ownership in their main asset, the 2004-built vessel. The contract between Gotlandsbolaget and Viking Line runs for five years with the possibility of extension. It enables Rederi AB Gotland to go ahead with its plan to return the Birka Stockholm to service with a strong partner by its side while Viking Line in doing so not only avoids a situation in which its own ship competes with a rival again, but can also return the Viking Cinderella to ferry duties where she is so badly needed after the sale of two former fleet mates.

On 21st November 2023, Birka Stockholm after three and a half years left her lay-up pier in Mariehamn to proceed to Stockholm where the new joint company is headquartered and where she was now being prepared for her old role as the Baltic Sea’s largest full-time cruise ship. On 06th February 2024, the vessel once more sailed for Öresundsvarvet Landskrona, this time in order to be refurbished more thoroughly at the cost of SEK 70 million during a three-week long shipyard stay.

In order to strengthen links with the island of Gotland, the ship was renamed Birka Gotland. Pontus Jönsson, the former master of the Destination Gotland ferry Drotten, was named master of the Birka Gotland which is now due to re-enter service on 20th March 2024 from Stockholm’s Stadsgården terminal. Gotland Ålandia Cruises is headed by Susanne Kaarnimo-Knight, formerly COO at the Swedish-Danish ferry company ForSea Ferries.

Bookings opened on 23rd January on the website of the new joint company “Birka Gotland” (www.birkagotland.se) as well as via those of Destination Gotland and Viking Line. In addition to her long-established 22 h cruises between Stockholm and Mariehamn, the ship on selected dates will also sail between Stockholm, Mariehamn and Visby. Furthermore, the schedule includes a return of the ship to Rønne and Riga as well as the Swedish mainland ports Ystad and Harnösand (Sundsvall) in 2024. It is also possible to book one-way passages between Stockholm and Mariehamn or between Mariehamn and Visby – making it possible to do some “island hopping” in the Baltic by effectively using the Birka Gotland as a (passenger) ferry.

Being designed especially for cruises through the Stockholm and Åland archipelago, the Birka Gotland offers an abundance of panoramic views from her public rooms which include the Yacht Club Bar, Pacific Pub and Club Copacabana where live music is played. Dining options include three restaurants (“Grand Buffet”, “Four Seasons” and “Café Brazil”) and eight bars while special attention has been drawn during the design stage to the vessel’s fitness, wellness and relaxation facilities. The Birka Gotland not only features a swimming pool and artificial beach under a magrodome, but also beach chairs, palm trees and even the occasional beach party and barbecue (weather permitting). There also is a casino and a large duty-free shop on board, the vessel benefitting from the Åland islands’ special tax status.

With the Birka Gotland now being in the hands of two established Scandinavian operators, there is all reason to believe that this much-loved cruise ship has many more happy years ahead of her after all.

Don’t miss more updates, news and reviews on Cruising Journal. 

Kai Ortel

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