Finland's Silja expects its Baltic sea ferry operator Silja Line's 1997 gross sales to be more than 3.3 billion markka (about HK$4.25 billion), compared with 3.35 billion markka in 1996.

It said the number of passengers carried last year by Silja Line dropped 3 per cent to 5.71 million from 5.9 million a year earlier.