Viking XPRS in Helsinki, 15 October 2011

Viking XPRS

IMO 9375654
Built 2008, Aker Yards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 35 778 GT
Length 186,71 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,75 m
Ice class 1A Super
2 500 passengers
732 berths
230 cars
1 000 lanemeters
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 40 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 25 knots

If you've been following this blog for long, you are no doubt aware of my quest to take good ship photos with autumn foliage surrounding them. This has been - and continues to be - a challenge, as in the Finnish autumn the leaves and the weather rarely collaborate. But as I was going though my old photos last saturday, I discovered a rather good foliage photo I had never put up anywhere. The date is 15 October 2011, and based on the photos I had taken, I had ventured to the Suomenlinna island in the middle of the day for the sole purpose of photographing the departure of the Viking XPRS. Why I had gone out I'm not entirely sure, as the weather in the photos is regular Finnish autumn weather (in other words, the sky looks like a grey blanket). As such, I'm not surprised I had never published any photos from the session.

But there is one photo I had prepared for publication. And indeed, it is a rather good photo as far as the foliage goes. And, well, since I discovered it, I thought I might as well put it up here, as that doesn't even require the most time-consuming phase of putting up photos: treating them with an image editing programme.

So, here it is: a grand "lost photo" of the Viking XPRS departing Helsinki on 15 October 2011.

The Viking XPRS on Kruunuvuorenselkä, passing the (former) island fortress of Lonna. You can't really see much of the ship, but that is not the point here, is it?

Vision of the Seas in Helsinki, 28 June 2012

Vision of the Seas

IMO 9116876
Built 1998, Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France
Tonnage 78 491 GT
Length 278,94 m
Width 32,20 m
Draugth 7,80 m
2 435 passengers
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 50 400 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 22 knots

Often promised but rarely seen, here are the photos of the Vision of the Seas from last summer. Which are pretty perfect for today, as the Finnish winter in showing it's worst side again, with gloomy overcast skies and rain. Not snow, rain.

So yes, the photographs below show the Vision of the Seas departing Helsinki West Harbour in the afternoon of 28 June 2013. Photographed from Sisä-Hattu. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

Photogenic summer reeds in the foreground.

Photoenic summer reeds, part 2.

Now with a cameo appearance by The Photogenic Tree.

Not sure about the funnel placement in this class of ships, to be honest. It would probably look better if the funnel was more centrally located, near the Sky Viking lounge.

Finnish granite in the foreground.

Next time: If we continue chronologically, the Celebrity Eclipse.