NEW DAWN FOR SHIPYARD AND CRUISE BRAND

The latest contract award to Helsinki Shipyard calls for a 125m vessel accommodating 192 guests at ‘five star’ standard. She will be larger than the initial two ships booked in June 2019 to the account of Russian operator Vodohod and specified with a 152 passenger-capacity on a length of 113m.

All three ships will be deployed by Swan Hellenic on itineraries in different regions of the world throughout the year, including cruising in Arctic and Antarctic waters during the summer polar periods. The first two vessels in the series will be constructed to PC5 Polar Class criteria, while the third will be to PC6 requirements and will adopt a similar diesel-electric hybrid power installation to that specified for the leading pair.

The modest hull length in each case affords considerable operational flexibility and accessibility to destinations beyond the reach of most cruiseships.

Hitherto primarily involved in the Russian waterway cruise market, Vodohod was founded by Volga Shipping Company in 2004. Swan Hellenic, re-launched in July 2020 with offices in Monaco, the UK and Germany, shares certain executives and some shareholders in Vodohod.

The Russian connection extends to the Finnish yard, formerly part of United Shipbuilding Corporation as Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, whose assets were transferred to Helsinki Shipyard and purchased in May 2019 by Algador Holdings, a Cyprus-registered company headed by two Russian businessmen.

This month’s announcement of a deal for a third newbuild is especially significant in the light of the havoc currently wrought on the cruise market by the pandemic. As with the preceding pair, the 12,000gt vessel will feature a 4.6MW diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system, incorporating selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology and a 3MW battery package.

Steel cutting for the first of the 113m duo began in April this year at Western Baltija Shipbuilding in Klaipeda, Lithuania, which is acting as subcontractor for the fabrication of pre-outfitted and painted blocks. These are being shipped by deck carrier direct to the Helsinki yard, where keel-laying took place during September.

As the 10,500gt SH Minerva, the vessel is expected to be commissioned in November 2021, to embark on an Antarctic voyage. The second-of-class is due in April 2022, while delivery of the newly-booked, 12,000gt third vessel is anticipated towards the end of 2022.

The Helsinki yard, a pioneer in Finnish shipbuilding, has passed through many hands over the decades, from Wartsila Marine to Masa-Yards, the Kvaerner Group, Aker Finnyards and South Korean-owned STX Europe, which formed the Arctech Shipyard Helsinki joint venture with United Shipbuilding Corporation in 2011. The Russian state-owned shipbuilding organisation obtained 100% control of the yard at the end of 2014.

As Helsinki Shipyard, the business focus is on future opportunities in the passengership and ice-going vessel sectors, building on its long track record in both fields.