FINLAND
Last August, Estonian ferry operator Tallink placed an order for a fast (27knot) passenger/vehicle ferry for the Helsinki-Tallinn route. This will have capacity for 1900 passengers and more than 2000lane metres of ro-ro space. The high speed will enable the voyage to be completed in one hour and 50 minutes.
In December, Aker Finnyards won an interesting order from Color Line for a pair fast passenger/vehicle day ferries to be built at the Rauma yard. They are expected to operate on Norwegian coastal routes.
this was confirmed to be a firm order, to be delivered in October 2008. The ship will work between Plymouth and Roscoff at a speed of 23knots, and space will be provided for 1500 passengers, with 1100lane metres of ro-ro space.
Other existing group orders already in progress include that with the Swedish B&N Nordsjöfrakt for three 15,000dwt container carriers, designed for paper transport using special Stora Enso container units (SECUs). All three vessels are due for delivery this year from the Rauma yard. Afourth Hamina class missile boat for the Finnish Navy's Squadron 2000 is scheduled to be completed next autumn. Last summer, the Helsinki shipyard delivered a prototype icebreaker/supply/standby vessel, Fesco Sakhalin, to the Russian shipping company Far Eastern Shipping (FESCO). Speaking at the ship's launch, FESCO's chairman said that more ships of this prototype design might be ordered in the future. Another prototype, a 14,500dwt Arctic container vessel for Russian mining company MMC Norilskiy Nickel is currently nearing completion at the Helsinki yard (see separate article in this feature).
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As compensation for the cancelled letter of intent for a Panamax-size cruise ship, plus one option, for Star Cruises' NCL, the extra capacity released at the Helsinki yard will now be used for assembling and outfitting two of the Tallink orders, also the Brittany Ferries' ro-pax order, and the Viking Line ferry, with deliveries in 2007 and 2008. Other potential orders which came to nought included that for Silja Line, which cancelled its letter of intent for two ferries, since the entire owning Sea Containers group was put up for sale. Further, the conditional contract with FS Ocean Club Ltd, for a luxury residential ship to be operated by Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, did not materialise.
Good order book for repairs and conversions
Aker Finnyards, through its Lifecycle Services organisation, is also engaged in refurbishment projects, seven of which have been placed last year. Last year, the yard took part in the refurbishment and lengthening project of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Enchantment of the Seas, together with
Keppel
Verolme Shipyard, in
The
Netherlands. Silja Line's Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony are currently undergoing refurbishment - mainly the public spaces - in cooperation with Turku Repair Yard. At the same time, four passenger/vehicle ferries owned by German TT-Line (Robin Hood, Nils Dacke, Nils Holgersson, and Peter Pan) are undergoing a retrofit programme, one ship at a time, at the Helsinki shipyard. The machinery and fuel systems will be converted for additionally using heavy fuel - an interesting move, since Robin Hood and Nils Dacke, when ordered in the early 1990s, were planned to be 'green' ships, burning low- sulphur marine diesel oil. Clearly, Finnish shipbuilding is at the start of a new boom period, with important contracts arriving just in time to stave of large redundancies and consolidation. The brand- new link with Chantiers de l'Atlantique opens up interesting new possibilities for both Finland and Europe, while the former country remains ably supported by an army of active and experienced subcontractors with worldwide reputations. At the present time, the future looks very positive.
THE NAVALARCHITECT FEBRUARY 2006
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