Birka Line

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Birka Line is an Ålandian cruise line that concentrates on cruises on the Baltic Sea with Stockholm as starting point. Birka Line has a wholly owned subsidiary named Birka Cargo, that concentrates on cargo shipping.

Birka Line was founded in 1971, they bought the ship M/S Prinsessen from DFDS and renamed her Prinsessan. On November 21, she made her first voyage between Stockholm and Mariehamn. In 1972, Prinsessan's sister ship M/S Olav was bought and renamed Baronessan. During the following years Birka acquired a few other ships, they had car and passenger ferries on the route Stockholm - Helsinki, also M/S Drottningen, a train ferry on Stockholm - Helsinki/Leningrad.

On April 22, 1986, the ship M/S Birka Princess was delivered from the Valmet shipyard. As an attempt to show their focus on cruises they started to market themselves as Birka Cruises. Birka Princess, was the company's flag ship for the following eighteen years. A title to be given over to Birka Paradise in 2004. Birka Paradise was delivered in a time when there was a very strong competition for cruise and ferry passengers on the northern Baltic Sea. Due to lack of passengers and because of financial problems, Birka Princess was sold to Louis Cruise Lines in early 2006.