The start of production has kicked off on a new generation LNG-powered fast ferry for the Estonian ferry company Tallink at the Meyer Turku Shipyard in Turku, Finland.
The new 49,000 gross ton ferry will be approximately 212 meters long and is designed to carry a maximum 2,800 passengers between Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia at a service speed of 27 knots.
The ship will be delivered from Meyer Turku in the beginning of 2017.
The environmentally friendly ferry uses LNG and she will comply with the new and stricter emission regulations for the ECA areas including the Baltic Sea. The highly innovative hull form minimizes the hydrodynamic flow resistance, which together with other innovative solutions will bring significant improvement in energy efficiency. Efficient and fast cargo turnaround in ports has been taken into account in the design of the new generation ferry.
“With the new Tallink fast ferry we are taking the next step in the technical development of the LNG ferries – all tailored to the specific needs of our customer. For the Turku yard, this order boosts our production volume in 2016 by 30% above the 2015 level”, states Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku Oy.
Currently, Tallink operates on Tallinn-Helsinki route with two fast ferries, the Star and Superstar, and the cruise ferry Baltic Queen, combined making up to 14 departures per day. The company transported 4.5 million passengers on Estonia-Finland route in 2014.
Meyer Turku Shipyard is now 100& owned by Germany’s Meyer Werft after having bought out the Finnish government of its 30% stake in the yard last April. Meyer Werft and the Finnish state originally purchased the yard from STX Europe in September 2014. The company is currently building ships for TUI Cruises, Tallink and Carnival Corporation.
The Tallink ferry project offers approximately 2,000 person-years of employment for the shipyard and the supplier network, according to Meyer Turku.
AS Tallink Grupp is the leading passenger and cargo transportation service provider in the Northern region of the Baltic Sea. The company owns altogether 16 vessels and operates under the brands of Tallink and SIlja Line on 6 different routes. AS Tallink Grupp employs 7000 people and has annually up to 9 million passengers worldwide.
