On 27th February AS Tallink Grupp and Meyer Turku Oy signed a contract for the construction of an LNG powered fast ferry for the Tallinn-Helsinki Shuttle service.

The dual fuel ship will be 212m in length with a passenger capacity of 2800. The ferry will cost around 230 million euros and will be built at the Meyer Turku shipyard for delivery in the beginning of 2017. The project will provide approximately 2000 man-years employment for the shipyard. The new environmentally friendly ship uses Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) as fuel and she will comply with the new and stricter emission regulations for the ECA areas including the Baltic Sea.

The 49,000gt/27 knot ship will bring significant improvement in energy efficiency. The highly innovative hull form minimizes the flow resistance and ensures that the ship operates well in ice conditions. Efficient and fast cargo turnaround in ports has been taken into account in the design of the new generation ferry. According to the contract 20% of the total cost will be paid during the construction period and the rest upon delivery of the vessel.

This contract increases Meyer Turku’s output by 30% in 2016. The newbuild will feature Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines running primarily on LNG. The machinery order includes three 12-cylinder Wärtsilä 50DF and two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 50DF main engines, as well as two Wärtsilä fixed pitch propellers and propeller shaft lines. The equipment will be delivered to the yard in early 2016. The Wärtsilä engines are more energy efficient and thus consume less fuel, and for a next generation environmentally sustainable ferry that is a major priority. The Wärtsilä 50DF engine can be run on either natural gas, light fuel oil (LFO), or heavy fuel oil (HFO), and can smoothly switch between fuels whilst operating. It is designed to provide the same output regardless of the fuel. Both the gas admission and pilot fuel injection are electronically controlled.

The engine functions are controlled by an advanced automation system that allows optimal running conditions to be set, independent of the ambient conditions or fuel type. The 50DF engine is designed to allow use of Wärtsilä’s remote diagnosis and dynamic maintenance planning solutions. Tallink then announced on 27th February that it had disposed of two elderly former Baltic cruiseferries. The Tallinn-based operator has sold the 18,345gt/1980 built Regina Balticato an unnamed Scandinavian interest. The ship now serves as an accommodation ship for the offshore/windfarm industry and will be delivered from Tallink by April 2015. Also, the 34,414gt/1986 built Silja Festival has been sold to Bridgemans Services, also for delivery in April. This former Baltic stalwart is also now employed as an accommodation ship.