Viking XPRS awarded for its exterior

April 27, 2009

The Viking Line’s high-speed passenger ferry Viking XPRS received the ShipPax Award for 2009 in the Outstanding Exterior category during the Ferry Shipping 2009 conference in France this past week. Viking Line’s Managing Director and Chief Executive, Nils-Erik Eklund, accepted the award. The ShipPax Awards are presented yearly by an international jury consisting of experts and specialists from the shipping industry. The awards are given for noteworthy, innovative and trend-setting advances in the industry. According to the jury, the Viking XPRS was selected because “For a modern exterior style of a timelessly classic form, with strong sense of cohesive form and balance among the hull, superstructure and funnel elements, and without the addition of unnecessary stylistic elements. We award trendsetters in the passenger shipping industry for the benefit of demanding sea travelers”.

“We are very pleased that the design of the Viking XPRS has attracted the attention of international experts. The construction of the vessel was preceded by four years of planning and research work. This award is also a form of recognition of a successful, intensive collaboration between a Finnish shipping company and knowledgeable Finnish shipbuilders. The best award, however, is the response that the Viking XPRS has received from our customers,” Mr Eklund says.

The Viking XPRS marks a successful first year – carrying nearly 1.5 million passengers

The Viking XPRS was delivered from the Aker Yards shipyard (now STX Finland Cruise Oy) in Helsinki just over one year ago and began service between the Finnish capital and Tallinn, Estonia on April 28, 2008.

During its first year in operation, the Viking XPRS will have transported 1,466,000 passengers, which is a new record for a single vessel serving the northern Baltic Sea. Viking Line’s passenger volume on the Helsinki-Tallinn route increased by 35 per cent compared to the year-earlier period.

New dance pavilion opening on Walpurgis Night, April 30

To the delight of all those who love to dance, this past winter Viking Line had a new dance restaurant built on the sun deck right next to the pub. The restaurant offers a magnificent sea view from large windows and live dance music both daytime and evenings. The godmother of the vessel, Finnish singing star Paula Koivuniemi, will perform on May 9 in the new restaurant.

Viking Line Abp

For further information, please contact:

Nils-Erik Eklund, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Viking Line Abp, tel: +358 18 27 000
Tuomas Nylund, Director of Corporate Communications, tel: +358 9 12 35 272
Johanna Boijer-Svahnström, Public Relations Manager, tel: +358 18 27 748
Christa Blomqvist, Information Officer, tel: +358 9 12 35 242