Superstar on the Bay of Finland, 25 February 2012

Superstar

IMO 9365398
Built 2008, Fincantieri Ancona, Italy
Tonnage 36 400 GT
Length 175,10 m
Width 27,60 m
Draugth 7,00 m
Ice class 1A
2 080 passengers
520 berths
665 cars
1 930 lanemeters
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 50 400 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 27,5 knots

The photo of the Superstar below, taken on 25 February 2012 from the deck of the Silja Symphony, is from my recent Helsink-Stockholm-Helsinki cruise with Bruce Peter. You may read a full report from the trip, complete with photos, on MaritimeMatters. I will be posting further ship photos from that trip here during the upcoming weeks.

Superstar sailing into the sunset.

Silja Serenade in Helsinki, 24 February 2012

As the winter seems to be drawing to a close in Finland, I guess this is a good time to be posting winterly photos. Well, that and the fact that I have made four ferry trips within the last month and all of them of course yielded numerous photographs. The latest trip was a day cruise to Tallinn on the Nordlandia today (first time on that ship for me), though seeing that there is a backlog from the previous trips, you will have to wait for the images from the Nordlandia for a while.

Silja Serenade

IMO 8715259
Built 1990, Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland
Tonnage 58 376 GT
Length 203,03 m
Width 31,93 m
Draugth 7,12 m
Ice class 1A Super
2 852 passengers
3 001 berths
410 cars
1 600 lane metres
4 Wärtsilä-Vasa diesels, combined 32 580 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 21 knots

The Silja Serenade at the Olympia Terminal in Helsinki on 24 February 2012, photographed from onboard the Viking XPRS. Click on the individual images to see in larger size.

In just nine days the amount of ice and snow has decreased dramatically from what is seen here.

Hiding in plain sight.

Gabriella in Helsinki, 24 February 2012

I did an extensive amount of travelling around last weekend with the delightful Bruce Peter. This is the first entry of photographs from that trip, with plenty more to come. Once I have managed to get some essays for the university out of the way, a travel report from the Silja Symphony with Bruce will also be forthcoming at MaritimeMatters.

Gabriella

IMO 8917601
Former names: Frans Suell, Silja Scandinavia
Built 1992, Brodogradiliste Split, Croatia
Tonnage 35 492 GT
Length 171,50 m
Width 28,20 m
Draugth 6,25 m
Ice class 1 A Super
2 420 passengers
2 402 berths
400 cars
900 lane metres
4 Pielstick diesels, combined 23 760 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 21,5 knots

For a history of the Gabriella, see this entry. For some notes on her design see this one. The photographs below show the Gabriella at quay on Katajanokka ferry terminal, photographed from onboard the Viking XPRS. Click on the images to see in larger size.

Finnish winter at it's... well, not really best, since the sky was overcast, but still fairly chic with the broken ice.

These photos were made possible by the fact that the XPRS turned around in the harbour pool and did not reverse to turn on Kruunuvuorenselkä (Finnjet-style), like the ship usually does.