TS Laevad February passenger numbers up 8.9% on year
Ferries owned by TS Laevad, the ferry-operating subsidiary of listed Estonian port operator Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn), carried a total of 107,338 passengers between the major Western Estonian islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa and the mainland in February, 8.9% more than during the same month last year.
The company's ferries also carried 52,001 vehicles last month, representing an on-year increase of 11.2%, the company announced on Tuesday.
Pille Kauber, board member and head of services at TS Laevad, said that the improved results are attributable to the increased number of departures as well as a significant increase in the number of trucks and trailers. Over the past 12 months, from March 2018 to February 2019, the number of vehicles transported by TS Laevad ferries crossed the one-million mark for the first time in the company's history.
No scheduled departures were cancelled due to inclement weather last month, and 99.4% of departures were operated on schedule.
On the Virtsu-Kuivastu route, which connects Saaremaa to the Estonian mainland via the smaller island of Muhu, passenger numbers increased 7% to 81,189, while the number of vehicles increased 10% to 38,761.
On the Rohuküla-Heltermaa route connecting the mainland to Hiiumaa, Estonia's second-largest island, TS Laevad ferries carried a total of 26,149 passengers and 13,240 vehicles, representing an increase of 16% each on year.
In 2018, TS Laevad carried a record 2.3 million passengers between the Estonian mainland and its two largest islands.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
