Silja Serenade in Helsinki, 23 November 2015

Silja Serenade

IMO 8715259
Built 1990, Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland
Tonnage 58 376 GT
Length 203,03 m
Width 31,93 m
Draught 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 returned from her most recent drydocking yesterday. In addition to changes to her interior (which were more extensive than the ones carried out on the Silja Symphony previously) the also received a new smiling seal logo on her funnel. While the old seal was painted on, the new one is made out of metal and has a rather attractice led lighting behind it, making it look very nice in the dark, as the following images, taken of the ship while moored at the Olympiaterminaali on the afternoon of 23 November 2015, show.

The new happy seal and a rather neat moon too, as photographed from Tähtitorninmäki.

Moving to Kauppatori, the Serenade is seen here with the local bunkering tanker Lotus.

Magazine cover potential here, methinks.

Another Serenade with a another ship shot, this time featuring the Suomenlinna ferry Suomenlinna II.

Next time: Magellan

Kristina Katarina in Helsinki, 14 August 2011

Kristina Katarina

IMO 7625811
Previous names: Konstantin Simonov, Francesca, The Iris
Built 1982, Stocznia Szczecinska im A. Warskiego Szczecin, Poland
Tonnage 12 688 GT
Length 138,00 m
Width 21,01 m
Draugth 5,60 m
450 passengers
4 Sulzer diesels, combined 12 779 kW
2 propellers
1 bow thruster
Speed 18 knots

For a history of the Kristina Katarina, please see the first entry on her. The photographs below show the ship in Helsinki on the evening of 14 August 2011. She was at Kanavaterminaali's quay overnight in preparation for her second winter season, which will take her as far away as the Caribbean, making her the first Finnish-flagged cruise ship to ever sail there (there have, of course, been Finnish-owned cruise ships in the Caribbean, but never a Finnish-flagged one - though there were plans to take Finnlines' Finnstar there in the early 1980s, but she was withdrawn before any of these plans could be realised). Photographs taken from various locations in the South Harbour. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

Sunset a half past eight: The Kristina Katarina at quay alongside the Suomenlinna II, one of the three serries providing service between Helsinki's Market Square and the island fortress Suomenlinna (aka Sveaborg in Swedish).

An hour later in the same place. On the right in the background in the orthodox christian Uspenski Cathedral. The grey tower in the background on the left is the tower of the Kallio Church.

A different point of view taken from Tähtitorninmäki. The white building next to the Kristina Katarina on the left is the (former) Enso-gutzeit headquarters, also the former HQ of Finnlines.

Later, that same evening.

(Almost) the same point of view as on the first image, but now showing the row of former warehouses along the shore of Katajanokka. The rightmost building is the terminal used by Viking Line.