Stena Line has announced its decision to close the ferry route between Halmstad in Sweden and Grenaa in Denmark. The company stated that the vessel Stena Nautica will continue to operate the route until 30 April.
Strong competition from the fixed bridge connections to and within Denmark, a strained cost environment, and challenging market conditions due to global uncertainty and a weak economic climate are cited by the company as the main reasons for discontinuing the Halmstad-Grenaa connection.
“The reason for this decision is that we have faced significant challenges in achieving profitability on the route over a long period of time,” said chief executive officer of Stena Line Niclas Mårtensson.
Mårtensson added: “By concentrating our investments on routes with clear demand, we can support both commercial transport and passenger travel more efficiently, while at the same time strengthening the long-term resilience of our route network. This has not been an easy decision, but it is necessary in order to future-proof our business and continue to build a strong network of ferry connections as an important part of Sweden’s and Europe’s infrastructure.”
Stena Line has operated the route since 2020 with a single ship, Stena Nautica.
The route was relocated from Varberg following new development plans for the Port of Varberg.
The company’s board of directors has now decided to discontinue the ferry route and to reach an agreement with Hallands Hamnar and Grenå Port to terminate the cooperation.
According to the current plan, traffic on the Halmstad-Grenaa route will cease on 30 April 2026.
“The Halmstad-Grenaa route has been an important part of Stena Line’s network, and over a period of time we have worked hard and tried various measures to reverse the trend. However, without a sufficient customer base, this has not been possible, and we have therefore chosen to take this difficult and regrettable decision. We would like to thank our partners in municipalities, regions and the business community, on both the Swedish and Danish sides, for the good and valuable cooperation during the years we have operated traffic between Halmstad and Grenaa,” commented Christina Bromander, trade director for Stena Line’s Denmark routes.
“Our ambition is to offer continued employment within Stena Line to as many affected employees as possible. Customers impacted by the closure will be offered a good alternative on the Frederikshavn-Gothenburg route,” she added.
Stena Line’s Swedish ferry network will continue to comprise six ferry routes and 12 vessels: Gothenburg-Frederikshavn, Gothenburg-Kiel, Trelleborg-Rostock, Karlskrona-Gdynia, Nynäshamn-Ventspils, and, from February 2026, Umeå-Vaasa through the recently acquired Wasaline.
