On November 29, the Finnish shipping company Viking Line Abp signed a contract with Aker Finnyards Oy on the construction of a high-speed passenger ferry for the route between Helsinki (Finland) and Tallinn (Estonia), with delivery expected in January 2008. The price will be between EUR 120 and EUR 130 million.

The new building will be tailor-made for the customer needs that have characterized the Helsinki-Tallinn route since Estonia joined the European Union in May 2004, with an emphasis on providing large year-round capacity for fast, comfortable trips featuring a modern range of shopping and dining choices and meeting the increased need for transport capacity, especially for passenger vehicles.

The design of the new vessel concept is based on in-depth analyses of future changes in the needs and wishes of various customer categories, as well as on Viking Line’s experience serving the Helsinki-Tallinn route with the M/S Rosella and from the Viking Express catamarans during three seasons in the 1990s as well as from services on the route between Turku (Finland); Mariehamn (Åland Islands, Finland); and Stockholm (Sweden). The order was preceded by three years of development work, in which Viking Line’s marketing organisation in Finland was deeply involved to ensure the customer and market orientation of the product.

The new building will be constructed to meet the highest Finnish ice class and with a powerful engine output in order to guarantee year-round service. Viking Line attaches great importance to the manoeuvring qualities of the vessel, enabling it to sail under difficult weather conditions and adhere to its timetable even in heavy winds.

In order to minimize its adverse environmental impact, the new building will be equipped in the same way as the M/S Cinderella, which was named by the Swedish Maritime Administration in 2003 as "the world’s most environmentally friendly motor vessel". The vessel will thus be equipped with catalytic cleansing systems on all engines and with 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 new building will be certified in compliance with ISO 14001 international standards for environmental management.

Viking Line most recently strengthened its fleet in 1997 when it acquired the cruise vessel M/S Gabriella. According to Nils-Erik Eklund, Managing Director of Viking Line, the new building will clearly strengthen the company’s competitiveness in the growing market for passenger services between Finland and the Baltic countries.

"Given the versatility and large capacity of the new vessel concept, we hope to be able to serve our customers in the best way for many years to come," the Managing Director says.

Mr Eklund also emphasizes the importance of the agreement reached on November 15 in negotiations between the Åland Shipowners’ Association and the Finnish Seamen’s Union, which in his view will strengthen the prerequisites for achieving cost competitiveness compared to shipping companies under non-Finnish flags.

Technical data

Passenger certificate: 2,500
Vehicle decks: Two separate vehicle decks, including one for cars only
Length: 185 m
Width: 27.7 m
Draught: 6.55 m
Gross tonnage: 34,000 BRT
Engine output: 40,000 kW
Cruising speed: 25 knots
Finnish ice class: 1 A super