Tampere to Close 86-Year-Old Hopealinjat and Lay Off Staff After Years of Losses

According to YLE, Tampere will close its city-owned cruise operator Hopealinjat and lay off its staff when the current season ends this summer. The move follows reporting that the company will end its 86-year service to Viikinsaari and cease cruises by the end of September the end of Viikinsaari service, and comes after the city guaranteed a ferry link for next summer the city’s guarantee for Viikinsaari service.

Hopealinjat, once the largest inland shipping company in the Nordics with five vessels, has been in deep financial trouble for years. Board chair Asko Koskinen, who was brought in last spring, says the company has lost its equity, exhausted a €1.3 million credit limit and that a recent, expensive ship purchase left the fleet with one vessel too many.

Domestic inland traffic last year totalled about 260,000 passengers, roughly half on Saimaa, while Tampere-area numbers fell from over 70,000 a decade ago to under 50,000 last year, according to Laivuri and tourism researcher Mikko Manka. He points to shorter, town-centred Saimaa routes and new attractions as more effective draws for tourists, and blames pricing, marketing and unprofitable onboard restaurant operations for hitting Tampere’s services hard.

Manka and Koskinen suggested the city could keep inland cruises alive in a different form, for example by owning vessels while private operators run services. They highlighted routes beyond Viikinsaari, such as Valkeakoski’s Visavuori and the Laukko manor in Vesilahti. Hopealinjat is still offered for sale, but Koskinen doubts a buyer will appear without major new capital.

The decision does not directly affect the century-old steamship Tarjanne’s traffic on Näsijärvi. According to YLE, Tarjanne will continue operating the Runoilijan tie route on Lake Näsijärvi next summer. YLE adds that the steamship was built in 1908, is the world’s oldest steamship still in regular service, and that its home port is Mustassalmi near Särkänniemi in Tampere. The Runoilijan tie route also runs north as far as Ruovesi and Virrat. YLE also quotes Mari Vuorinen, joint CEO of the Runoilijan tie company, saying the operator has its own board and is working on several plans to keep Tarjanne running.