Star in Helsinki, 5 August 2018

To follow up on last week's entry on the Princess Anastasia against impressive storm clouds, this time we'll look at the Star. Kind of high time, too, as it's apparently been over three years since that ship was last featured here.

Star

IMO 9364722
Built 2007, Aker Finnyards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 36 250 GT
Length 186,00 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,50 m
Ice class 1A
1 900 passengers
520 berths
450 cars
1 981 lanemeters
4 MaK diesels, combined 48 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 27,7 knots

It seems that the history of the Star has never been covered in this blog before, I guess it's high time we look at it. Not that there would have been too many events during the history of the ship to date.

The ship that eventually became the Star was contracted from Aker Finnyards in August 2008. During the research process for Innovation and Specialisation – The Story of Shipbuilding in Finland, I discovered that the final design of the Star had been preceeded by various different proposals by the shipyard for a Helsinki-Tallinn ferry, none of which had been considered satisfactory by Tallink. In the end, a design based on the SeaFrance Rodin was acceptable (in part perhaps because it was cheaper to build a near-sister to an existing ship). Originally, the contract included an option of a sister ship, but this was never taken up and instead, the Star would be paired with the Fincantieri-built Superstar.

Although designed by Aker Finnyards' Rauma yard, the Star was built at the company's Helsinki facility, which at the time specialised in building ferries. The ship was delivered in April 2007, approximately one week late due to problem with one of the engines. Once in service, the Star pretty much revolutionised the Helsinki-Tallinn route, being the first ship to combine a high service speed with the onboard amenities of a large ferry. Incidentally, the ship's interiors – designed by the Finnish company Aprocos and the Estonian architect Pille Lausmäe – attracted much positive comment. The same cannot be said for the lime-green livery, also the work of Aprocos (I think it's quite fetching, to be honest).

Since April 2007, the Star has remained on the Helsinki-Tallinn line, almost without incident. In December 2013, the internal ramp leading to the upper car deck collapsed while the ship was about to start unloading in Helsinki. In the end, the ship has to sail back to Tallinn, where the upper car deck could be emptied using the floating ramp left there from the days when Tallink's three Superfast ferries served the port.

In winter 2017, coinciding with the arrival of the Megastar, the Star was rebuilt for twin-level loading and unloading (provisions for which had been there from the start), with a small alteration to the ship's bow in the process. Rumour has it that the ship was due to be lengthened in 2018, to bring its capacities closer to the Megastar. If such plans ever existed, they were clearly abandoned in favour of contracting a sister ship to the Megastar, which Tallink announced as their intention earlier this summer. This intention also indicates that the Star's time in the Tallink fleet is running to a close – as Tallink have not other routes for which the ship would be suitable, the arrival of a Megastar sister will surely mean the older ship's sale out of the fleet.

Anyway, onwards to the photos! The show the Star arriving in Helsinki Länsisatama (West Harbour) on the evening of 5 August 2018. Photographed, unusually, from the submerged isthmus linking Sisä-Hattu to Vattuniemi – I was leaving the island after the departure of the Princess Anastasia, without realising the Star was incoming. As per the usual, click on the images to see them in larger size.

Sisä-Hattu in the foreground. Yes, I was standing in the sea when I took these. There was a convinient stone there that I could put my backpack and shoes on.

The lighting was somehow hugely challenging for my camera, giving widely different hues for the storm clouds in the background for different frames.

Apparently, the ideal way of turning when arriving at the new Länsiterminaali 2 was tested in a model tank to discover the ideal way.

Interestingly, the Star still hasn't been painted with the new-style Tallink logos, instead retaining the old italic font. If the ship is to be replaced soon, it might be the text is never updated.

Notice the little bit of white railing missing from the top of the bow compared to the earlier pictures of the Star here – this was removed to allow the twin-level loading mentioned in the text above.

Next time: Azamara Journey interiors, if all goes to plan.

Star in Helsinki, 18 March 2015

Star

IMO 9364722
Built 2007, Aker Finnyards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 36 250 GT
Length 186,00 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,50 m
Ice class 1A
1 900 passengers
520 berths
450 cars
1 981 lanemeters
4 MaK diesels, combined 48 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 27,7 knots

Because obviously there weren't enough photos of the Star in this blog yet. As per the usual, the photos below show the ship departing from Helsinki's Länsisatama, this time on the afternoon of 18 March 2015. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

Star in Helsinki, 12 October 2013

Star

IMO 9364722
Built 2007, Aker Finnyards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 36 250 GT
Length 186,00 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,50 m
Ice class 1A
1 900 passengers
520 berths
450 cars
1 981 lanemeters
4 MaK diesels, combined 48 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 27,7 knots

Still not much to say about the Star. The photos below show her departing from Helsinki West Harbour in the afternoon of 12 October 2013. Photographed from Vattuniemi. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

I especially like the way the yellow leaves stand out from the other trees on Pihlajasaari in the background.

The composition works particularly well here, methinks.

Sisä-Hattu, seen from a somewhat different point of view than the usual.

Next time: Adamantios Korais

Celebrity Eclipse in Helsinki, 28 June 2013

Celebrity Eclipse

IMO 9404314
Built 2010, Meyer Werft Papenburg, Germany
Tonnage 121 878 GT
Length 314,80 m
Width 36,80 m
Draught 8,30 m
2 852 passengers
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 67 200 kW
2 azipods (?)
3 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster(?)
Speed 24 knots

In terms of exterior design, the Celebrity Cruises' Solstice-class area my favourite post-panamax megaships (and actually amongst my favourites even if you drop the post-panamax part). Yet ships of the class have been featured here only once before, in the form of the Celebrity Eclipse (that entry, with a short history of the ship, can be seen here). The reason for this omission is very simple: the Celebrity Eclipse has thus far been the only ship of the class to visit Helsinki, and naturally, since I've photographed her before, never-before-seen ships take priority. But the Celebrity Eclipse was here on the multi-ship day of 28 June 2013, so I took a second set of photos of her then, as seen from the traditional vantage point for ships departing the West Harbour, the small island of Sisä-Hattu.

Click on the images to see them in a larger size.

I do dislike it when cruise ships use the newer Jätkäsaari cruise quays instead of the older ones in Hernesaari, as the latter usually grand better views. Still, this one turned out okay.

I still don't quite understand why they only painted the X on the forward funnel.

Tallink's inbound Star dwarfed by the outbound Celebrity Eclipse.

Such fantastic exterior design.

Juxtaposition: Smooth granite with angular ship.

More rocks.

Finlandia in Helsinki, 2 April 2013

Finlandia

IMO 9214379
Name history: Moby Freedom, Freedom, Finlandia
Built 2001 Daewoo Shipbuilding & Heavy Machinery Okpo, South Korea
Tonnage 36 093 GT
Length 175 m
Width 27,60 m
Draught 7 m
2080 passengers
1190 berth
665 cars
1950 lane metres
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 50 400 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 27 knots

For a history of the Finlandia, see the first entry on her.

The photographs below show the Finlandia arriving in Helsinki West Harbour in the evening of 2 April 2013, photographed from Sisä-Hattu. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

Photogenic ice feat. the Finlandia.

This photo shows why, contraty to the popular belief, the diagonal line separating the blue and white on the side of the ship is pure genious: it continues directly from the angle of the funnel. When viewed directly from the side (alas, I didn't include any photos like that) they line up perfectly.

Passing the competition; the Finlandia's current timetable is planned to perfectly match the arrival/depoarture times of the Star/Superstar, as the three have to temporarily use the same quay.

About to turn in order to reverse into quay.

This is a photo that needs to be retaken during the summer; setting sun and photogenic foreground rocks.

The Photogenic Tree makes a cameo appearance.

Next time: Well, this shall be a surprise to all of us.

Star in Helsinki, 2 April 2013

Star

IMO 9364722
Built 2007, Aker Finnyards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 36 250 GT
Length 186,00 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,50 m
Ice class 1A
1 900 passengers
520 berths
450 cars
1 981 lanemeters
4 MaK diesels, combined 48 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 27,7 knots

It seems that whenever I went to the West Harbour to get photos of ferries in ice, the Tallink Shuttle present was always the Star. Not that I'm complaining about having so many good photos of the ship, mind you. The ones below show the Star arriving at and departing from Helsinki West Harbour in the evening of 2 April 2013. Photographed from Sisä-Hattu. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

Not the usual point of view: the shallow channel between Lauttasaari and Sisä-Hattu was still frozen over, so it was possible to actually take photographs standing on the channel. This photo and the one below are taken from such a vantage point.

I thought the person standing next to rock might have been a fellow ship-buff, but he turned out to be a fisherman.

Star backing into quay, framed by the photogenic tree(tm).

An hour later, the departing Star is beautifully illuminated by the setting sun.

Next time: the spring snow series continues with the Silja Europa.

Star in Helsinki, 24 January 2013

Star

IMO 9364722
Built 2007, Aker Finnyards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 36 250 GT
Length 186,00 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,50 m
Ice class 1A
1 900 passengers
520 berths
450 cars
1 981 lanemeters
4 MaK diesels, combined 48 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 27,7 knots

There might have been only one published photo of mine taken last year featuring the Star, but this year is going to be slightly different as we kick off with seven imaes featuring the ship. These photos were taken on the afternoon of 24 January 2012, the same day as the sunset photos featuring the Silja Europa I put up two weeks ago. The Star in fact arrived in port before the SE on that day, so these were taken before the SE images, not after as you might think from the order these have been published.

Click on the images to see them in larger size. Please let me know if the images do not display correctly; they have been uploaded into my Photobucket account instead of my Picasa account because I got fed up with Picasa not working properly with Blogger even though both are Google products.

Edit 2014-01-30: The images have been fixed. Apparently Google, being the complete assholes that they are, decided the perfectly legitimate links to Photobucket simply do not work in Blogger. If anyone has any tips on migrating material from Blogger to another blog platform, do let me know as I'm getting seriously sick and tired og Google.

I particularly like the way the way markers are approximaly the same colour as the Star's hull.

Star and sunset = Starset?

Hurts my eyes to look stright at the sun even in a photo.

Just look at those colours.

And then we got some reflections on the side of the ship...

Tallink, if you wish to buy images to use in your marketing, I'm open for negotiations.

Ice, sunset, ship.

Next time: Another trip to the archives.

Star in Helsinki, 14 December 2012

It's now the beginning of a new year... and it should be a year that will prove interesting, with the new Wasa Express and Viking Grace entering service on the Baltic Sea; and the Stavangerfjord and Bergensfjord on the North Sea. The first two will definately be covered in this blog in some detail, and if all goes well so will the new Fjord Line ships.

But returning to the subject of the Old Year for a moment, yesterday saw the publications of Ulkomatala's last issue of 2012, dealing with such varied subjects as the new Finlandia, the histories of the Nordlandia and the new Wasa Express, and the state-owned shipping companies Algérie Ferries, COTUNAV and Polferries. Alas, as always the magazine is only available in Finnish. Those of you fortunate enough to read my native language can check out the lastest UM issue here.

But now, onwards to the point of this entry and the only published photo of the Star taken by me during the 2012.

Star

IMO 9364722
Built 2007, Aker Finnyards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 36 250 GT
Length 186,00 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,50 m
Ice class 1A
1 900 passengers
520 berths
450 cars
1 981 lanemeters
4 MaK diesels, combined 48 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 27,7 knots

There is very little to say about the Star that wouldn't have been covered in the previous entries about her; particularly as there's very little really to say about her, at least historywise. The photographs below show the Star in Helsinki West Harbour on the afternoon of 14 December 2012 shortly after arriving from Tallinn.

Although this looks foggy, it wasn't taken in the fog but while there was quite heavy snowfall. Also notice the rear ramp in the process of opening.

Next time: Perhaps I'd better make any promises as it'll be another trip to the archives.

Star in Helsinki, 11 September 2011

Star

IMO 9364722
Built 2007, Aker Finnyards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 36 250 GT
Length 186,00 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,50 m
Ice class 1A
1 900 passengers
520 berths
450 cars
1 981 lanemeters
4 MaK diesels, combined 48 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 27,7 knots

What would be the new year without one of the most commonly featured ship on this blog? Possibly better, but never the less, here are some more images of the Star. In my defence, these are for once taken from a slightly different time and place as the usual, as on 11 September last year I was up unusually early to photograph the arrival of Peace Boat's The Oceanic in the West Harbour from Hernesaari. And since Star happened to arrive and depart during the timegframe I was there for The Oceanic, I also photographed the Star.

Click on the images to see in larger size.

A distant Star coming into view from behind Pihlajasaari.

Star in the morning sun doesn't quite make sense in a sentence - unless you know we're talking about a ship that is.

Starting to turn in order to reverse into the quay.

Moment later we got to see the ship's rear.

Aft thrusters are useful things.

Star reversing, with the tug Atlas heading out to sea to escort The Oceanic.

An hour later from the previous image, the Atlas has safely escorted The Oceanic into quay while the Star is already departing.

Going to Tallinn, BRB.

Star in Helsinki, 25 August 2011

Star

IMO 9364722
Built 2007, Aker Finnyards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 36 250 GT
Length 186,00 m
Width 27,70 m
Draugth 6,50 m
Ice class 1A
1 900 passengers
520 berths
450 cars
1 981 lanemeters
4 MaK diesels, combined 48 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 27,7 knots

Some more photographs of the Star. She and the Superstar have so many daily departures it's near-impossible not to catch one or even both of them if you happen to be in the vicinity of the West Harbour. (Not taking photographs is of course not an option). As you can probably judge based on the previous images, this set shows the Star departing from the West Harbour, photographed from Sisä-Hattu. Taken on 25 August 2011. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

In our series of Plantlife and Other Stuff in the Foreground this week...

I might have remarked on this before, but the name of the ship and the livery don't really match, do they? Of course, the same can be said for the Galaxy too... Tallink haven't been too keen on consistency, at least not since the late 1990s when they briefly had a common livery and a consistent naming scheme. I'm not complaining mind you, just observing.

What is this upright photo devilry?

On a final note unrelated to the images here, Ulkomatala have a photo-oriented Christmas calendar that you can view by clicking here. The texts are in Finnish, but that doesn't stop you from enjoying the images.

Star, 31 May 2007

Star

IMO 9364722
Built 2007, Aker Finnyards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 36 250 GT
Length 186,00 m
Width 27,70 m
Draught 6,50 m
Ice class 1A
1 900 passengers
520 berths
450 cars
1 981 lanemeters
4 MaK diesels, combined 48 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 27,7 knots

Yes, I do  have a shitload of photographs of the Star. She keeps shuttling back and forth between Helsinki and Tallinn so often it's impossible not to get a huge number of pictures of her. Well, admittedly I could just not take photos of her every time she comes around...

Moving on, the photographs below are of the Star outside Helsinki, en-route to Länsisatama on the morning of 31 May 2007 (the ship being less than two months old at the time). Photographed from onboard the Superfast VIII. Click on the individual images to see larger size.

Star passing the Superfast VIII at high speed. It was actually slightly scary, the two ships passing each other at fairly high speed on the relatively narrow deep shipping lane.

With her short, stubby bow the Star looks a bit front-heavy in my opinion, and the terraced shape of the aft of the ship further enhances this look.

The Helsinki cityscape in the background in all it's glory.

Star, 11 April 2008

Star

IMO 9364722
Built 2007, Aker Finnyards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 36 250 GT
Length 186,00 m
Width 27,70 m
Draught 6,50 m
Ice class 1A
1 900 passengers
520 berths
450 cars
1 981 lanemeters
4 MaK diesels, combined 48 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 27,7 knots

The Star shortly after departing from Helsinki's Länsisatama on 11 April 2008, photographed from Hernesaari. Click on the individual images to view full size.

The bulbous bow is an interesting invention. And it can certainly provide for very cool photographs from time to time.

Hernesaari is, unfortunately, far from an ideal place for photographs... at least in the afternoons which is when I'm usually up and about enough to take photographs. That said, this isn't a bad shot at all.

Star in the sun.