From 3 January 2008, the Scandlines shipping company is doubling departure frequency and capacity on its Rostock-Hanko (Finland) cargo route. Scandlines first launched the service in October 2007 with two departures per week.

The scheduled extension of the line is part of the company's continued expansion of its activities in the Northern Baltic region. The RoRo vessels “Aurora” and “Merchant” will leave Rostock on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and depart from Hanko on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The sister ships acquired by Scandlines in 2004 and 2007 respectively were built by the Rauma Repola Shipyard at Rauma (Finland) in the 1908s and have a load capacity of 2,170 lane metres, as well as cabin spaces for up to 12 drivers. The two 155 m long and 25 m wide ships have been awarded the highest Finnish ice class.

With the increase in cargo service capacities to and from Finland – the second-largest market for RoRo transport in the Baltic region – Scandlines shipping company is continuing the ongoing development of its international route network, thereby strengthening its position as one of the leading logistic service providers for ferry and RoRo transport on the Baltic Sea.

The Rostock-Hanko line provides the European transport industry with another reliable service to optimise the logistic process chains in an important North-South corridor on the Baltic Sea. In addition, the new product means that Scandlines now offers the transport sector two routes from Germany for the transportation of goods onto the Russian market, i.e. via the Latvian port of Ventspils – Scandlines’ transport hub in the Baltic States – and via Hanko in Finland. Both ports have optimally developed hinterland links for road and rail transport.

The company also expects further momentum for the port location of Rostock, the Scandlines HUB in Continental Europe, through the expansion of the Finland service. The Scandlines shipping company also operates three other routes to Denmark, Sweden and Latvia from the Rostock Seaport with up to 17 departures per day.