Eckerö Line

About Eckerö Line

Eckerö Line Ab Oy is a Finnish ferry operator and part of the Rederi Ab Eckerö group from the Åland Islands. The company was founded in 1994 and has carried passengers and freight between Helsinki and Tallinn ever since; in August 2024 it celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. Both ships sail under the Finnish flag, and the company carries the Key Flag symbol for Finnish services. According to its own 2025 figures, Eckerö Line employs around 600 people, carries 2.1 million passengers a year and turns over 153 million euros; it also handles a substantial share of the freight traffic between the two capitals. Do not confuse Eckerö Line with its sister brand Eckerö Linjen, which sails between Åland and Grisslehamn in Sweden.

Fleet

The company’s passenger ship is MS Finlandia: built in 2001 by Daewoo Shipbuilding in South Korea, 175 m long and 27.6 m wide, 27 knots, ice class 1A, room for 2,080 passengers and around 1,900 m of vehicle deck. She has sailed for Eckerö Line since 2012. On board you will find the Buffet Eckerö, bars and restaurants, the Bistro & Café Satama, Horizon seating, a lounge, cabins, a conference centre and the Captain’s Lounge, plus an onboard shop. The second ship is MS Finbo Cargo, a freight ferry between Helsinki-Vuosaari and Muuga near Tallinn, which takes vehicles with their driver and a small number of passengers, but has no pet cabins and carries no animals on night sailings.

Route to Finland

Eckerö Line runs a single passenger route: Tallinn - Helsinki. Finlandia leaves from the A Terminal in Tallinn Old City Harbour (Sadama 25), a few minutes on foot below the Old Town, and arrives at West Terminal T2 in the Jätkäsaari district of Helsinki (Tyynenmerenkatu 14), from where the tram runs into the centre. The crossing takes about two and a half hours; together with the freight ferry the company offers up to twelve departures a day and runs the first sailing of the day from both cities. If you are driving up through Poland and the Baltic states, this route is the short final leg of the journey.

Check-in, vehicles and pets

Check-in closes 45 minutes before the scheduled departure, for foot passengers and vehicles alike; the easiest way is to check in beforehand in the app. Estonia and Finland are both in the Schengen area, but a valid ID card or passport still belongs in your hand luggage. On the freight ferry from Vuosaari, vehicles are gathered after check-in and led on board behind an escort vehicle; anyone who arrives late does not sail.

Finlandia takes cars, motorcycles, motorhomes, caravans and bicycles; the fare follows the vehicle dimensions you enter when booking. There is more on this in the guide Taking a motorhome to Finland. Pets travel at no extra charge, but their place has to be booked in advance, because space is limited. Small animals may travel in a carrier or bag in most passenger areas, but not in Horizon seating, the restaurant, the bar, the conference centre or the lounge; larger animals stay in the vehicle on the car deck, which is closed during the crossing, or travel in a pet cabin for a fee. There is a sandbox for dogs on open deck 6. You need the EU pet passport for the trip; dogs returning to Finland from Estonia need a tapeworm treatment one to five days beforehand. Everything else is covered in the guide Taking your dog to Finland.

Tickets

Eckerö Line sells one-way crossings, day cruises and hotel packages as well as ticket books for frequent travellers; a car package bundles the vehicle and the people travelling in it. On board you pay in euros, by card or in cash. Rebooking and refunds follow the fare you choose; what counts are the conditions shown to you before you buy. The timetable shows the sailings, the booking window on the route page shows the price for your date, and the price overview explains how to compare like with like.