The undertaking, set to launch in April, is the brainchild of St. Peter Line, a newly-founded ferry operator registered in the EU and sailing under the Maltese flag. The company is offering passengers from all over the world the chance to take the ferry line from Helsinki and spend 72 hours in Saint Petersburg or another desired city without a Russian visa. The country’s visa laws require, however, that tourists travel in a group of at least two people and book their accommodation beforehand from a travel company authorised by the Russian government. The visa freedom on route trips has been made possible by newly-adopted changes to Russian legislation, supported strongly by the Saint Petersburg City Government.

According to preliminary schedule, the vessel Princess Maria, accommodating up to 1,638 passengers, will conduct five voyages a week from Helsinki to Saint Petersburg, with the cheapest prices promised to be around 40 euros. On board, shipgoers will be treated with restaurants, tax free shops and authentic Russian entertainment. St. Peter Line believes there is strong demand for this kind of service, and hopes to attract 500,000 tourists annually.

When St Peter Line announced the ferry line in January, they assured that all the open questions would be solved before April. Until this day, the company hasn’t confirmed the schedule or the prices, and there are still uncertainties with the port agreements.

This is the second time in recent years that the cruise connection between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg is tried out. In 2008, Finnish Stella Lines started operating the route but pulled out after a few months because of the worsening economic climate.

VELI-MATTI PELTOLA - HT

Follow the developments at http://stpeterline.com/en/