The company connecting Umeå and Vaasa will start sailing its gas-run Aurora Botnia ferry on bioLNG each Friday from 13 October 2023 until Christmas.

With certified climate-neutral bioLNG from Gasum, Wasaline intends to reduce its carbon footprint further: the company shared in a press release that its 2023 emissions are already 22% lower than last year.

Wasaline will cover the price spread between bioLNG and the standard version of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

"Aurora Botnia is the world's most environmentally friendly ferry today, but our efforts to reduce our climate footprint continue," said Peter Ståhlberg, Managing Director at Wasaline.

He furthered, "This is a pilot project to measure the interest of our cargo owners and passengers, and whether it is financially viable to continue biogas purchases. We would like to thank our loyal customers who have made this unique investment in climate-neutral transport possible for the first time in the Kvarken."

Jacob Granqvist, VP Maritime at Gasum, commented, "This is a great initiative that we at Gasum are very happy to be a part of in our role as a biogas supplier. Biogas is one of the already available concrete pathways to reducing emissions in maritime transport and travel, and it's fantastic that Wasaline is now setting on this pathway to provide lower emissions services to its customers. Our goal is to continuously increase biogas availability to our customers in the coming years."

Ida Saavalainen, CEO at Ahola Group, a road haulier, also underlined, "Sustainability and holistic environmental-effective solutions are a central part of our operations where we work actively to reduce our footprint. Our methods include real-time optimization of routes, high filling degree, energy-efficient driving, and the use of alternative fuels with lower emissions. We are pleased to reduce emissions even further with the help of biogas-powered ferry connections by Wasaline."

Photo: Wasaline