Tallink Grupp’s Romantika sails to Sassnitz, Germany to bring home Estonians and Latvians trapped in Europe
Tallink Grupp in partnership with the Estonian Foreign Office will send Tallink Grupp’s vessel Romantika to Germany tonight to help and bring home Estonians and Latvians currently stuck in Europe due to closed borders.
Romantika will sail to Port of Sassnitz, Germany. Romantika will depart from Port of Riga, Latvia tonight, 17 March at 20.00 at the earliest. All German citizens who wish to use this opportunity to get home to Germany can buy tickets for this departure from the Riga terminal from 19.00 onwards. The journey from Riga to Sassnitz will take approximately 24 hours.
Romantika will depart from Sassnitz on Wednesday, 18 March at 23.55 local time. The ship will sail to Port of Riga, Latvia and will arrive in Riga on Thursday, 19 March at 23.55 local time. The journey from Sassnitz to Riga is approximately 24 hours.
Tickets for the Sassnitz-Riga departure can be purchased by Estonian citizens on Tallink’s website www.tallink.ee and by Latvian citizens on Tallink Latvia’s website www.tallink.lv Ticket sales for the Sassnitz-Riga departure will be opened on 17 March 2020. Purchasing the ticket on the website prior to departure is mandatory. All passengers will be accommodated in cabins and will have the opportunity to purchase food on board.
International cargo transportation companies can book cargo transportation for the Riga-Sassnitz departure for tonight, 17 March. Companies interested in booking cargo transportation for the Riga-Sassnitz departure should contact the Tallink Cargo team urgently. (Cargo office Latvia contacts: E-mail cargo@tallink.lv; Tel: +371 6709 9707).
Access to the ports and a guarantee that the ship will not be quarantined is ensured by the Estonian Foreign Office together with the Latvian and German authorities.
Negotiations will continue during this evacuation to reach an agreement according to which Romantika could continue to sail on the Sassnitz-Riga route also after the current trip to ensure a transport corridor between Germany, Latvia and Estonia.
All passengers that from 17 March 2020 entry restrictions are in force on the Estonian borders. More information regarding the restrictions and rules of entry can be found on the Estonian Foreign Office website. We urge all passengers to check that they have the right to enter the Republic of Estonia and Latvia before purchasing a ticket.
AS Tallink Grupp is one of the leading providers of passenger transport and cargo transport services in the northern part of the Baltic Sea region. The company owns 14 vessels and operates seven ferry routes under the brand names of Tallink and Silja Line. AS Tallink Grupp employs over 7,400 people in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Russia and Germany. In 2019, Tallink Grupp provided services to 9.8 million travellers and transported approximately 380,000 freight units of goods. The shares of Tallink Grupp are listed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange.
