Mariella in Helsinki, 15 February 2010

I was looking through my older entries recently, and came across this entry of the Mariella. While I generally try to avoid reposting old image sets, I cannot for the life of me fathom why I had put up only three images from that session, considering how many superb shots I took. So today we will look back almost eight years, and finally take a proper look at the very chilly morning of the Mariella arriving in Helsinki.

Mariella

IMO 8320573
Built 1985, Wärtsilä Turku (Perno), Finland
Tonnage 37 860 GT
Length 175,70 m
Width 28,40 m
Draugth 6,78 m
Ice class 1A Super
2 500 passengers
2 500 berths
430 cars
980 lane metres
4 Wärtsilä SEMT-Pielstick diesels, combined 23 008 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 22 knots

Let's cut right to the chase. The photos below show the Mariella outside Helsinki, passing through the Kustaanmiekka strait, and in Eteläsatama (South Harbour) in the morning of 15 February 2010, photographed from onboard the also-inbound Silja Symphony. As per the usual, click on the images to see them in larger size.

The Mariella came in via the usual inbound shipping lane east of the Harmaja lighthouse, while we took a more westernly route, utilising a channel broken earlier by the Superstar. This shot was preceeded by many photos of a backlit Mariella.

Both ships were delayed by the difficult ice conditions - the Silja Symphony more severely than the Mariella, which made these photos possible, as the distance between the ships is usually greater at this point.

Harmaja lighthouse in the background.

Some twists and turns (by both ships) later we ended up with a very similar view as above, but with the Mariella now about to enter the Kustaanmiekka strait.

The strait is relatively narrow, but made more problematic for navigation by the fact it's not straight and ships have to perform an S-turn while passing through.

Past the narrowest bit...

...and some minutes later we are at Eteläsatama, with the Mariella just about to berth.

Berthing then took a while, as both ships needed to first wash the quayside clear of broken ice - a routine manouvre during the winter season, but a time-conmusing one nonetheless.

Kships will return in 2018!