Birka-Gotland

On Dec 8 at 11:40 p.m. the sea rescuers at the RS Räfsnäs were notified that a person on board the 'Birka Gotland' needed urgent medical care.The lifeboat 'Ilse Sanne' was manned by three volunteer rescuers and departs immediately. When they arrived, two rescuers are taken on board to prepare the person for evacuation. At about the same time, the Swedish Maritime Administration's pilot boat arrived with medical personnel who were placed on board the ship.The person, together with the medical personnel, was taken aboard the 'Ilse Sanne' and departed for the shore, where an ambulance was waiting. On Dec 9 at 01:00 a.m. the rescuers returned to the station.

On Nov 12, 2025, shortly after 8 p.m. the rescue station Räfsnäs was alerted, after a person aboard the 'Birka Gotland' needed mediccal care. Five volunteer sea rescuers man boarded the lifeboat 'Rescue Vialla' and set course for the ship. Via the pilot gate four sea rescuers went on board to provide initial care. The person was placed on a stretcher and taken down from the gate to the deck of the 'Rescue Vialla'. The patient was taken to Furusund where an ambulance took over for further transport to hospital. Around10 p.m. the lifeboat returned to the station.

On April 28, 2024, the 'Birka Gotland', sailing between Stockholm and Marihamn, requested assistance for a child with an allergic reaction. An SAR helicopter apparently couldn't go out due to inclement weather, so the Sea Rescue Society deployed the RS 'Vialla' from the station in Räfsnäs. The sea rescuers boarded the ship north of Furusund and took over the patient, who was handed over to a waiting ambulance in Kapellskär.

Gotlandsbolaget has bought the 'Birka Stockholm' from Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö for approximately 38 million Euros. The vessel will be used in the traffic between Stockholm, Mariehamn and Visby to complement the Gotland traffic. The vessel served as a cruise ship between Stockholm and Mariehamn, an operation that was shut down during the pandemic. Now Gotlandsbolaget together with subsidiary Destination Gotland will use the ship to offer cruises. It will offer tax-free and operate Stockholm, Mariehamn and Visby with varying traffic patterns depending on the season.The plan is for the business to start in the spring of 2024, and the work to develop the organization and offer will begin immediately.

Birka Cruises’ BIRKA STOCKHOLM is to undergo a EUR 2.1 million upgrade at Denmark’s Fayard between 6-18 January 2019. Although some technical work will take place, the main focus of the refit will concentrate on the vessel’s main passenger deck, Deck 5.