Viking Line, the Finnish cruise ferry operator, may flag out to Sweden its ships that currently fly the Finnish flag as the new Finnish government is planning to cut aid to the shipping sector in order to balance its books, Finnish media reports say.

The government plans to reduce its support to passenger shipping by €20 million, of which Viking Line's share would be €13 million, the Talous-Sanomat business website said. Johanna Boijer-Svahnstrom, spokesperson for the company, was cited by the website by saying that the flagging out of ships is the worst case scenario as Viking Line is a listed company that needs to take care of its profitability.

The government aid comes mostly in the form of reimbursement of social security contributions ship owners pay on behalf of their staff. Viking Line has a fleet of seven ships, five of which fly the Finnish flag.