The company's fleet also transported 522kt of non-unitized freight, marking a decrease of 10.2% year-on-year.
In addition, some 60k vehicles (excl. pax cars in ferry traffic) were carried over 2020's first half, 31.8% fewer than in the corresponding period in 2019.
Passenger traffic (incl. truck drivers) noted a drop, too, by 26.8% to a total of 227k people.
Emanuele Grimaldi, President and CEO, commented on the results, "The COVID-19 pandemic continued its dramatic effects in Europe and Finland, and operationally the quarter was extremely challenging. The biggest impact has been on passenger traffic which has stopped almost completely. Finnlines, like any other shipping operator, is also suffering from the slowdown in global trade caused by the global pandemic."
He furthered, "[…] Even in this exceptional situation we are facing today, our vessels have been running and performing their duties as usual. With more than 170 departures each week, into and out of Finland, with a fleet of 21 ships, we have been ensuring that the flow of supplies continues to run smoothly."
Grimaldi also commented on governmental programmes aimed at helping shipping companies weather the storm of the current crisis, "Finnlines has been following closely all the emergency measures to shipping companies set by the Governments across the Europe and especially Finnish Government's aids that are granted for the operation of cargo and passenger shipping companies. Finnlines is still in the process with NESA [the National Emergency Supply Agency] aiming for a decision where the support is based and distributed according to each shipping company's share they secure Finland's security of supply in the important rubber-tyred traffic. Finnlines is also hopeful regarding the new proposed supplementary appropriation which is also for awarding grants for shipping companies. Companies that operate in the same sector and compete with each other should have uniform and equal opportunities to apply for and receive financial aid granted by the State and authorities. Non-discrimination and ensuring fair conditions of competition are the basic principles of EU State aid rules."