The European Investment Bank has signed a €70 million loan with Kvarken Link Oy, a special purpose vehicle jointly owned by the municipalities of Umeå in Sweden and Vaasa in Finland, to acquire a new ferry to transport passengers and vehicles between their two ports.

The new ice-class 800 passenger ferry will be built by Rauma Marine Constructions in Finland to high environmentally friendly specifications with hybrid propulsion, and will operate under the Finnish flag....