Meyer Turku kicks off construction of new LNG powered fast ferry for Tallink
The start of production of Tallink's new generation LNG powered fast ferry for the Tallinn-Helsinki route was celebrated on the 4th of August 2015 at Meyer Turku shipyard, the shipbuilding company said in a press release.
The new ferry will be approximately 212 metres in length with a gross tonnage of 49 000. The ship will operate on the route between Helsinki and Tallinn and she is designed for carrying 2800 passengers. The service speed is 27 knots. The ship will be delivered from Meyer Turku in the beginning of 2017. The project gives approximately 2000 person-years of employment for the shipyard and the supplier network.
The new environmentally friendly ship uses LNG as fuel 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 fast ferry.
Janek Stalmeister, the CEO of AS Tallink Grupp, said that the new shuttle vessel will pave the way for the next era of fast ferry service on the Tallinn-Helsinki route. “The environmental performance and many innovative solutions in the technical and service areas will be benchmarks for the market and also our shuttle service in general“, added Stalmeister.
“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
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.
Meyer Turku Oy employs 1,400 persons and specializes in building highly complex, innovative and environmentally friendly cruise ships, car-passenger ferries and special vessels. Together with two sister shipyards in Germany, Meyer Werft in Papenburg and Neptun Werft in Rostock, Meyer Turku is one of the world’s leading cruise ship builders. The successful shipbuilding tradition in Turku has been continuing since 1737. The company is currently building ships for TUI Cruises, Tallink and Carnival Corporation. The design and construction of the ships are supported by the subsidiaries of Meyer Turku: Piikkio Works Oy, which is a Cabin Factory in Piikkiö, Shipbuilding Completion Oy, which provides turnkey solutions to public spaces in ships, and ENG´nD Oy, which is an engineering company offering services for shipbuilding and offshore.
