Stena eyes Baltic

Print Article E-Mail Article

Ferry group Stena Line has expressed interest in the Baltic market, just days after picking up P&O's Irish Sea service

Stena Line president Gunnar Blomdahl said Poland has 'great potential', despite the fact that it will lose duty-free revenues when it joins the EU next year.

"The loss of revenue is a small hurdle compared with what we faced in the UK [in 1999]," said Blomdahl. "Poland has far more opportunities. It is a growing market with a large population and huge potential.

Stena Line, which already operates two vessels sailing between Karlskrona and Gdynia in Poland, suffered losses of around SKr1bn ($116m) after the abolition of tax-free sales between EU countries, but Blomdahl said that the Irish Sea investment marked the culmination of the group's recovery. He added that he expected to make a profit this year.