Finland. Tallink Silja Oy

The loan will finance the company’s liquidity position and strengthen its ability to continue operations under severely changed market conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tallink plays a strategic role in the employment and maritime infrastructure of the northern Baltic Sea region. The travel restrictions and border closures that have been imposed in light of the coronavirus outbreak had severe negative effects on the company’s activities during 2020. As a result, the company’s passenger numbers and revenues have reduced significantly.

The Government of Finland provided a state guarantee of up to EUR 90 million for the loan to safeguard the security of supply and maintain critically important freight traffic.

Tallink Silja Oy, subsidiary of Tallink Grupp, is a shipping company that operates cruise ferries and roll on/roll off passenger ferries between Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Latvia. Tallink Grupp is one of the largest companies in Estonia, employing about 5,000 people in the Baltic Sea region and cooperating with some 6,800 organizations, mainly small and medium sized enterprises. In 2019, the company served nearly 10 million passengers and transported 380,000 cargo units.

The project is classified under NIB’s Response Bond Framework as “Financing of companies in the infrastructure sector that are in need of funding due to supply- or demand-side disruptions in their operations”.

Tallink Silja Oy plays a significant role in the transportation of passengers – and thus for providing labour mobility – and for freight shipping in the Baltic Sea region. The operation of ships is a crucial element of the maritime infrastructure value chain. The loan aims to support the company’s liquidity position and to enable the continuation of transport services of regional importance in the long-term.

The loan aims to support Tallink’s operations during and after a period of demand disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, a sustainability review is not applicable.