The REFEC project aimed at reinforcing the establishment of the Eastern Finland – Estonia transport corridor by focusing on concrete measures to support the establishment of the Loviisa – Kunda ferry connection.

Firstly, the project produced an analysis on the freight potential that would use the Loviisa – Kunda ferry connection. Based on this information, concrete activities to support the connection establishment was carried out, such as port operative and master plans, benchmarking of best practises from similar connections in the Baltic Sea Region to be transferred to the Loviisa – Kunda connection as well as contacting potential shipping companies with ferry scheduling and route option plans. In addition, a roadmap to comply with the needed licences and regulatory requirements was created in the project.

Furthermore, impact assessment of the developed corridor was carried out. Based on the assessment, Loviisa-Kunda ferry connection would provide shorter mileage and travel time compared to the routes via the existing ferry services. Regarding environmental impact, the Loviisa-Kunda route CO2 emissions would be in line with the mileage observations. Another environmentally positive issue would be that the new ferry line would partly relieve heavy traffic in the capital regions. A new ferry line would also stimulate regional development in both countries by creating more jobs and investments to the region close to ports.

List of all publications is available here: www.refec.fi/publications