Viking Line orders new vessel

On January 29, 2007, Viking Line signed a contract with the Spanish shipyard Astilleros de Sevilla for a newly built ferry to serve on its route between Kapellskär (Sweden) and Mariehamn (Åland Islands, Finland). To be delivered by the summer of 2009, the vessel will be the first-ever newbuilding for service on this short route across the Sea of Åland. It can thus take advantage of the latest advances in technical equipment and environmentally sound solutions. Meanwhile the design of its public spaces and service concepts can be adapted entirely to the needs of various sub-markets and customer categories. The contract amount is about EUR 60 million.

Years of conceptual development behind the Viking ADCC

The decision to invest in a newbuilding was made after an extensive global inventory of available second-hand vessels, after which Viking Line concluded that there are no vessels that meet today’s requirements in terms of fuel consumption, environmental equipment, ice class and efficient service concepts.

The working name of the newbuilding is the Viking ADCC (All Seasons Day Cruising and Commuting). The vessel will be based on several years of development work, in which passenger opinions and market data were systematically gathered and analyzed. With these as its point of departure, in 2005 Viking Line defined a set of preliminary specifications regarding public spaces as well as passenger and vehicle capacities. The Company then encouraged the general public and its customers in Sweden and Åland to submit ideas and perceptions about the detailed design of the vessel. This contributed in a fruitful way to the planning task. Until the end of February 2007, Viking Line still welcomes ideas before putting the finishing touches on the vessel’s public spaces.

Large capacity, quick passage and many-faceted service concept

The Viking ADCC will accommodate 1,500 passengers and 320 cars. With a cruising speed of 22 knots, it will shorten the passage between Kapellskär and Mariehamn to two hours, which will make possible a customer-friendly timetable year round.

To satisfy a broad spectrum of customer wishes, the range of food and restaurants will be many-faceted, including a completely new type of bistro buffet, a separate à la carte café, a cafeteria and a bar for dancing and entertainment. In order to satisfy the needs of the conference market as well, the vessel will be equipped with dedicated space for day conferences.

Improved transport and increased accessibility year round

The Viking ADCC is being built to Ice Class 1A specifications, which will guarantee reliable transport year round. Because of its large cargo capacity, the vessel will also be able to help handle future growth in the flow of goods between Åland and Sweden. Its large car capacity will help strengthen the competitiveness of Åland tourism by further improving the attractiveness of the journey, combined with Åland’s planned investments in a new culture and congress hall, an expanded Maritime Museum, new golf courses, fishing tourism and new event formats. Before the newbuilding is delivered, Viking Line also intends to work closely with the Åland tourist trade to develop more comprehensive travel packages, thereby simplifying the accessibility of Åland to various customer categories.

Environmentally sound and accessible to the disabled

To minimize its environmental impact, the Viking ADCC will be equipped with catalytic cleansing systems on all engines and a solid waste sorting facility to allow both recycling and land-based destruction. All liquid wastes such as grey, black and bilge water will be pumped ashore for treatment in land-based wastewater plants. Like Viking Line’s other vessels, the Viking ADCC will be certified in compliance with ISO 14001 international standards for environmental management.

Special importance has been attached to meeting the needs of people with disabilities. There will be ample space between vehicles on the car deck, roomy stairways and lifts, as well as short distances between the entry hall, restaurants, shopping areas and car deck to make the vessel more easily accessible to people with disabilities.

Vessel data:

Length 133 metres
Width 21.9 metres
Engine output 20,000 kW
Cruising speed 22 knots
Ice class 1A
Weight 15,600 gross registered tonnes


Mariehamn, Åland, January 30, 2007

For further information, please contact:

Nils-Erik Eklund, Managing Director
Viking Line Abp, telephone +358 18 27000