Tallink orders cruise ferry

Aker Finnyards, part of Aker Yards, and the Estonian Tallink Group have signed a contract for the building of a big new cruise ferry for delivery in spring 2006. The contract worth 165 Million euro ($210 million) means 1,700 man-years of work at the Rauma yard.

The new vessel will be one of the biggest cruise ferries in the Baltic Sea, having capacity for 2,800 passengers. “We are extremely proud that Tallink has chosen us to build this challenging next generation vessel”, says Jyrki Heinimaa, President of Aker Finnyards. “We consider this order a commission of trust to our cruise and ferry building expertise. This is the third newbuilding order we received from Tallink within a couple of years”.

When delivered in spring 2006, the new vessel will start regular cruises between Helsinki and Tallinn. Currently on that route, the cruise ferry ?Romantika?, delivered from Aker Finnyards in spring 2002, will switch to cruising between Stockholm and Tallinn together with the sister ship ?Victoria?, built in Rauma in 2004.

“The new generation cruise ferry will be designed for the trade between Helsinki and Tallinn. The guiding principle in designing the vessel is paying attention to the comfort and luxury of present-day passengers. There will be maximal use of modern technologies onboard. The number of cabins will be 900, and the conference centre will be remarkable”, says Enn Pant, Chairman of AS Tallink Grupp.

Besides passengers, the vessel is designed to carry private cars and freight units, and will have 1,130 lane metres. The newbuilding will have a length of 212 metres and a beam of 29 metres and a gross tonnage of 48,300. Propulsion by four diesel engines totalling 26,240 kW will provide a service speed of 22 knots.