Baltic Sea cruiseferry operator orders its first LNG-powered ship

AS Tallink Grupp and Meyer Turku Oy signed a Letter of Intent for the construction of a car-passenger fast ferry that will cover the Tallinn-Helsinki shuttle route. The ship will cost around 230 million euros and will be built at Turku shipyard for delivery in the beginning of 2017. The project will provide approximately 2,000 man-years employment for the shipyard. Over the next few months both parties will work on the shipbuilding contract and financing arrangements.

“As a long time operator on the route we have a good understanding of customer expectations and know what needs improvement. I am confident that the world-class experience of Meyer Turku will be once again a valuable asset for us to deliver a high quality new ferry, which will strengthen our competitive advantages,” said Management Board Member of AS Tallink Grupp Janek Stalmeister.

The new ferry will be about 212 meters in length with a gross tonnage of 49,000. The ship will operate on the route between Helsinki and Tallinn and is planned to carry 2,800 passengers. It will also bring significant improvement in energy efficiency which is achieved by applying numerous innovations and new technical solutions. Using LNG as fuel, it will comply with the new and stricter emission regulations for the ECA areas including the Baltic Sea.

“A series of six ferries between years 2002-2009 has been delivered to Tallink and this ship will be the seventh newbuilding for the same shipowner. I’m very happy that Meyer Turku will continue the excellent and trusting cooperation with Tallink. This new ferry prototype gives us an excellent opportunity to apply improved design & building methods. For all these reasons this Letter of Intent signed is very important to Meyer Turku and to the entire Finnish shipbuilding cluster,” commented Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku Oy.

https://www.ngvjournal.com/baltic-sea-ferry-operator-orders-its-first-lng-powered-ship/