View source for Estline

{{Verification|date=July 2022}}{{Short description|Company based in Estonia}}
{{infobox company
| name = Estline
| logo = [[File:Estline logo.svg|250px|Estline logo]]
| caption =
| type =
| genre =
| fate = Bankruptcy (2001)
| predecessor =
| successor =
| foundation = 1989
| founder =
| defunct = August 2001
| location_city =
| location_country =
| location = [[Tallinn]], [[Estonia]]
| locations =
| area_served = [[Baltic Sea]]
| key_people =
| industry =
| products =
| services = Passenger transportation<br>Freight transportation
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| aum =
| assets =
| equity =
| owner =
| num_employees =
| parent = [[Estonian Shipping Company]]
| divisions =
| subsid =
| homepage = [http://www.estline.ee www.estline.ee]
| footnotes =
| intl =
}}
'''Estline''' (sometimes spelled '''EstLine''') was a [[Sweden|Swedish]]-[[Estonia]]n [[shipping company]], owned jointly by Nordström & Thulin and the [[Government of Estonia|Estonian Government]] via [[Estonian Shipping Company]] (ESCO).<ref>{{cite web|title=Estline – Mereviki|url=https://mereviki.vta.ee/mediawiki/index.php/Estline|accessdate=9 March 2024}}</ref> Estline was founded in 1989, and had a 10 year exclusive right to the passenger traffic between [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]] and [[Tallinn]], [[Estonia]]. On 28 September 1994, the [[flagship]] of the company, [[MS Estonia|MS ''Estonia'']], sank in an autumn storm. In 1998, Nordström & Thulin left the joint venture, making Estline a fully owned Estonian shipping company.<ref>{{cite web|title=Merelaevandus ostab E-Liini|url=https://www.ohtuleht.ee/15810/merelaevandus-ostab-e-liini|date=24 January 1998|accessdate=12 March 2024}}</ref> By the end of 2000, Estline's ships were chartered by [[Tallink]]. Estline officially declared bankruptcy in August 2001.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kauppalehti.fi/avar/plehti/trindex.jsp?xid=41416&date=2001/08/02 |title=Virolainen Estline-varustamo konkurssiin |accessdate=2008-01-28 |publisher=Kauppalehti |language=Finnish |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422013134/http://www.kauppalehti.fi/avar/plehti/trindex.jsp?xid=41416&date=2001%2F08%2F02 |archivedate=2008-04-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== History==
Estline was a shipping company facilitating passenger travel between Tallinn and Stockholm. It was established in 1989 and faced financial difficulties in 2001.
On August 28, 1989, the Transport Committee of the [[Estonian SSR]] and the Swedish shipping company [[Nordström & Thulin|Nordström & Thulin AB]] inked a comprehensive agreement to inaugurate cruise ferry services between Tallinn and Stockholm.
According to the agreement, Estline-Eesti AS, in partnership with the Swedish entity Nordström & Thulin Estline AB, was established in November 1989. A contract between the [[Port of Tallinn]] and Estline-Eesti AS was signed to construct the new terminal.
On June 16, 1990, the cruise ferry [[M/S Nord Estonia|MS ''Nord Estonia'']], owned by Nordström & Thulin Estline AB, departed from Stockholm heading for Tallinn, arriving the following morning. On May 22, 1991, a new passenger terminal (B-terminal) opened at the [[Port of Tallinn]], marking a European-style construction milestone before Estonia's restoration of independence.
Amid a [[1991 Soviet coup attempt|Soviet military coup]] attempt in Moscow on August 19, 1991, with the Tallinn port blocked and military presence on Estonian roads, the ''Nord Estonia'' embarked for Tallinn. The port opened that night, and on the morning of August 20, 1991, ''Nord Estonia'' was the lone ship to arrive at the Tallinn port during that uncertain hour, as other vessels had halted in foreign ports.
In October 1992, [[Estonian Shipping Company]] (ESCO) began representing Estonia on the Tallinn-Stockholm shipping line. A new company, E-Liini AS, formed with equal ownership by ESCO and Nordström & Thulin AB. By the end of 1992, the Estonia-based enterprise was renamed E-Liini AS, with ESCO holding 50%. In February 1993, the cruise ferry [[MS Estonia|MS ''Estonia'']] replaced the Swedish-flagged Nord Estonia in service, jointly purchased by Estline's owners.
As a result of the sinking of the [[MS Estonia|MS ''Estonia'']] on September 28, 1994, the [[M/S Mare Balticum|MS ''Mare Balticum'']] underwent more extensive rebuilding than initially planned, and the company's logo was replaced. Sea traffic resumed on December 11, 1994. In the fall of 1997, following ESCO's privatization, the cruise ferry [[MS Baltic Kristina|MS ''Baltic Kristina'']] commenced limited service on the Tallinn-Stockholm line. Regular daily line traffic began on May 1, 1998, with the two ships.
In January 1998, ESCO acquired Nordström & Thulin's share, renaming E-Liini AS back to Estline. Nordström & Thulin exited the joint venture in 1998, making Estline a wholly owned Estonian shipping company. In December 2000, ESCO entered into a lease agreement with [[Tallink]] for both ships, and service resumed in January 2001. Estline, lacking vessels and income, declared bankruptcy in the summer of 2001.<ref>{{cite web|title=EstLine History|url=https://www.estline.ee/en|accessdate=10 March 2024}}</ref>
==Ships ==
Not a complete list.
=== Former vessels ===
Ships that are still in use are marked in green.
{| class="wikitable"
! Ship || Built || In service || Tonnage<sup>1</sup>
!Image|| Notes
|-
| [[M/S Vana Tallinn|MS ''Nord Estonia'']]|| 1974 || 1990–1994 ||align="Center" | {{GRT|10,002}}
|[[File:Vana Tallinn.jpg|220x220px]]|| Scrapped in [[Aliga]], Turkey, 2014.
|-
| {{MS|Estonia}} || 1980 || 1993–1994 ||align="Center" | {{GRT|15,598}}
| [[File:MS Estonia model.jpg|220x220px]]|| [[Sinking of the MS Estonia|Capsized and sank]] on 28 September 1994.
|-
| {{M/S|Mare Balticum}} || 1979 || 1994–1996 ||align="Center" | {{GRT|11,671}}
|[[File:Meloodia_(laev).jpg|frameless|200x200px]]|| Scrapped in [[Alang]], India, 2021.
|- style="background:#7FFF7F;"
| {{MS|Regina Baltica}} || 1980 || 1996–2000 ||align="Center" | {{GRT|13,878}}
|[[File:MS Regina Baltica-side.jpg|frameless|220x220px]]|| Now sails for Balearia.
|-
| {{MS|Baltic Kristina}} || 1973 || 1997–2000 ||align="Center" | {{GRT|12,281}}
| || Scrapped in [[Alang]].
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.estline.ee/ Official website]
[[Category:Ferry companies of Estonia]]
[[Category:Transport companies disestablished in 2001]]
[[Category:Transport companies established in 1990]]
[[Category:1990 establishments in Estonia]]
[[Category:2001 disestablishments in Estonia]]
[[Category:Companies based in Tallinn]]
[[Category:Defunct shipping companies]]