Ferries in the time of corona

The COVIC-19 pandemic has upset many things – but not my work, which is the reason for the recent lack of updates. Now that I finally had the time to write something for here and take a look at photos taken during the last year or so, I thought we'd take a quick roundup of what is and isn't running during the pandemic in my home region, as well as some of the oddities caused by it.

An unusual (until a month ago, anyway) pair in Helsinki's Länsisatama: the Megastar, departing for Tallinn according to normal schedule, passes the Mariella laid up at the Hernesaari cruise quay. Photogrpahed 4 April 2020.

Currently, no services to and from Finland carry passengers, with the exception of freight drivers and other essential movement. Several passenger-oriented services in the Northern Baltic have been completely discotinued, while other remain operational – some with a subsidy from the Finnish state.

International (ex-passenger) services operated

• Vaasa–Umeå: Wasa Express (Wasaline), with a Finnish state subsidy
• Naantali–Kapellskär: Finnfellow and Finnswan (Finnlines) 
• Turku–Stockholm: Amorella and Viking Grace (Viking Line), Baltic Princess and Galaxy (Silja Line), all with a Finnish state subsidy
• Mariehamn–Kapellskär: Rosella (Viking Line), with a Finnish state subsidy
• Helsinki–Tallinn: Finlandia (Eckerö Line), Gabriella (Viking Line), Megastar (Tallink), all with a Finnish state subsidy
• Helsinki (Vuosaari)–Muuga: Finbo Cargo (Eckerö Line), Sea Wind (Tallink)
• Helsinki–Travemünde: Finnlady, Finnmaid and Finnstar (Finnlines)
• Hanko–Paldiski: Sailor (DFDS)
• Paldiski–Kapellskär: Optima Seaways (DFDS), Regal Star (Tallink)
• Ventspils–Nynäshamn: Scottish Viking, Stena Flavia (Stena Line)

The Viking Grace photographed leaving Stockholm in the morning of 13 February 2020.

Suspended routes

• Helsinki–Stockholm: normally operated by Viking Line (Gabriella and Mariella) and Silja Line (Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony)
• Helsinki–St. Petersburg: normally operated by Moby SPL (Princess Anastasia)
• Stockholm–Mariehamn 22-hour cruises: normally operated by Birka Cruises (Birka Stockholm) and Viking Line (Viking Cinderella)
• Eckerö–Grisslehamn: normally operated by Eckerö Linjen (Eckerö)
• Tallinn–Stockholm: normally operated by Tallink (Baltic Queen and Victoria I)
• Riga–Stockholm: normally operated by Tallink (Isabelle and Romantika)

Birka Stockholm departing Stockholm in the evening of 13 February 2020.

Special routes operated because of the pandemic (all since suspended)

• Turku–Kapellskär: Silja's Baltic Princess and Galaxy briefly operated to Kapellskär rather than Stockholm between 19-24 March, until returning to the normal route after receiving a state subsidy from Finland.
• Paldiski–Sassnitz: Due to the Polish borders being closed, Tallink's Star operated on this novel route between 19 March and 18 April with a subsidy from the Estonian state. As the Polish borders have since been reopened for transit traffic, the service has been closed.
• Riga–Sassnitz: Due to the same border closure, the Romantika operated one round trip from Riga to Sassnitz 17-19 March, with a subsidy from the Estonian and Latvian states.

The Star departing Tallinn for Helsinki on 16 June 2019. Note also the Viking XPRS in the background on the left.

Long-term effects

• Rederi Ab Eckerö have made all crew (sans 13 people) on the Swedish-flagged Birka Stockholm and Eckerö redundant, as services are likely to be suspended until the summer and layoffs are not possible under Swedish law. Once services are restarted, the old crew members have priority in hiring.
• Tallink have similarly made all crew on the Latvian-flagged Isabelle and Romantika redundant. At the same time, the company also stated that when restarted, the service would revert to a single-ship service, although a second ship would be restored if and when passenger numbers improve.

Viking's Gabriella is unusually running on the Helsinki–Tallinn route. Initially, Viking ran a reduced corona service with the Viking XPRS, but later received a Finnish state subsidy to run the Gabriella instead (in part due to the Finnish Seamen's Union objecting to the Swedish-flagged Galaxy and Estonian-flagged Megastar getting a subsidy) with essentially the XPRS's schedule. Photo from 17 June 2019.

Meanwhile, despite the pandemic, the construction of the new Baltic ferries Aurora Botnia (Wasaline's Wasa Express replacement) and Mystar (Tallink's Star replacement) continues normally, while reports from China indicate the building of the Viking Glory (Viking's Amorella replacement) has recommenced.

One more Megastar from 4 April, just because I can.

Of course, with the pandemic resulting in permanent closures of, for example, Stena Line's cruise-oriented Oslo–Frederikshavn route, the question does arise also in my home waters if some of the passenger-oriented routes surviving solely on the high income during the short summer season can continue, or if we will see more temporary reductions as one the Riga–Stockholm line, or even permanent closures? Much will, of course, depend of how long travel continues to be restricted, but also on whether or not it will have permanent effects of travel patterns?

Travelling on CalMac: a Nordic perspective

In 2016, I visited Scotland on two separate occasions and travelled on a small selection of Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) ferries, connecting Scotland's Western Isles to the mainland and each other. An abundance of photos from those trips have been sitting on my hand drive ever since, waiting for publication. For this blog's new concept, I thought I'd finally record some of my impressions of travelling with CalMac. Some ships discussed have of course been featured here before, but today we'll look at them in a slightly different way.

Clansman and Isle of Mull at Oban harbour in the afternoon of 4.6.2016.

The very original plan for my visit to Scotland was that the first CalMac ship I would encounter would be the 2014-built Loch Seaforth. However, an unexpected schedule change for my travelling companion (the design historian Bruce Peter) meant my first encounter with CalMac was quite different: 1984-built Isle of Arran.

My first time seeing a CalMac ferry: the Isle of Arran arriving at Ardrossan.

Onboard the Isle of Arran, bound for the island the ship is named after.

The Isle of Arran was, frankly, surprisingly old-fashioned. Both in terms of exterior and interior design, the ship seemed to be a product of a much older era than the first half of the 1980s (delivered 1984). For a tour of the ship's interiors, please refer to this previous entry.

Returning from Arran, my second CalMac experience was more up to date: the 1993-vintage Caledonian Isles, sailing on the Ardrossan–Brodick route alongside the Isle of Arran, which offers a wider array of facilities, but also looks more up to date on the outside and inside. However, there is certainly a CalMac "house style" when it comes to interior design that – to me anyway – looks dark, brooding and somewhat out of date. The Caledonian Isles also has some strange design choices, like an observation lounge where the windows are so high you can't actually properly see outside when sitting down...

Of course, it should be remembered CalMac are more of a public transport service than a commercial venture, and the interior do work fine, regardless of what you think about the decor.

The Caledonian Isles makes an evening departure from Ardrossan to Arran on 5.8.2016.

The Mariners Restaurant on the Caledonian Isles; a chairs bolted to the floor give the space a decidedly workmanlike feel.

The Caledonian Isles' Coffee Cabin.

Following the initial encounter with the Isle of Arran and Caledonian Isles, Bruce and I headed to Oban, where the main attraction of was the last seagoing paddle steamer in service, the Waverley, but we also had plenty of opportunities to photograph various CalMac ships, and travelled onboard the Isle of Mull and Coruisk.

The Isle of Mull on a crossing from Oban to Craignure on 5.6.2016, photographed from onboard the Coruisk.

The Mariners Restaurant onboard the Isle of Mull. Note, again, the fixed seats.

The Isle of Mull is one of two CalMac vessels with a bar – The Still – onboard, as seen here.

On the Oban–Craignure route, the Isle of Mull and Coruisk made for a very mismatched pair: the 1988-built Isle of Mull has one of the widest selections of public rooms onboard CalMac ships, while the 2003-vintage Coruisk is more of a glorified road ferry, with just one public room and very little passenger space compared to the (then-)running mate.

The Coruisk departing Oban on 5.6.2016. This is an aft view, though it is quite hard to tell on a ship that is essentially (but not quite) a double-ender.

Boarding the Coruisk at Craignure. Boarding procedures varied from skywalks as on bigger ferries to car deck walk-ins such as the one seen here.

The Coffee Cabin on the Coruisk. A somewhat more extensive look at the interiors of the ship can be seen here (though to be honest, there isn't very much to it...).

What surprised me positively was how extensive the onboard product was, at least on the bigger ships (of course, the Coruisk was the only "smaller ship" I sampled on these trips): there is more often than not a (cafeteria-style) restaurant, a café, an observation lounge, a shop and sometimes even a bar. On the other hand, a negative surprise – though from previous experiences with the UK, it perhaps shouldn't have – was how much staff there are in the different venues and how frankly inefficient it all seemed. A cafeteria that on a Finnish ferry would be manned by one or two people had four or five people banging their heads together behind the counter on the Caledonian Isles and Isle of Mull. Of course a contributing factor is the British aversion to self-service, where even a self-service cafeteria needs to have someone to give you your food... which to me, coming from very efficiently-minded Finland, seems utterly wasteful.

CalMac food isn't nescessarily something to write home about, as this Full Scottish Breakfast from the Isle of Mull demonstrates. In hindsight, I'm surprised this didn't come with chips – on the Caledonian Isles, they even wanted to give me chips with lasagna! (I declined).

Of course, my CalMac travels so far have only scratched the surface of their large fleet and varied route network, so my impressions should not be taken as definitive in any way. But it is fascinating – as always – to realise how different onboard products on ferries are in different parts of the world, when on the surface you would expect them to be the same.

For those interested in CalMac and their ships, there will be an gallery of ferry exteriors coming up later.

Where is this blog going?

A perfectly valid question to ask about a blog that hasn't been updated in almost five months. And, frankly, I don't have a proper answer, although the plan is to wake this place up from it's slumber in some manner.

But let's take things from the beginning.

Unlike this blog, the Mariella won't be going anywhere today, as she is strike-bound in Helsinki. This photo shows her departing Helsinki on 2.3.2019.

For the past months, I have been busy polishing the text, images and layout of my next book The North Sea Bridge – Ferry Connections Between Scandinavia and Britain 1820-2014, which went to printers last week and should be with us before Christmas. I will do a proper blog entry on the book once the actual physical copies arrive. The book being completed is relevant for the subject at hand because I discovered that working on the book, plus various other jobs, and being the main parent of a two-year-old left me with little time or energy to post things here.

But, at the same time, after having been an active ship photographer for well over a decade – and a ship photo blogger for nine years – I find myself less interested in it than I once was. This is not to say that I wouldn't be interested in ships, and photographing them, anymore, but I do feel that my development as a ship photographer has reached a plateau, making the process itself less interesting. Simultaneously, I have less time to myself than before (being a parent and all) and less interest in using that time for going out on the kind of long photo sessions that used to be the norm for me. It doesn't help that, ultimately, the ships calling in Helsinki stay pretty much the same year in–year out (even on the cruise ship side) and I have good photos of most of them already. Thus ships for which I feel going out for photos would be warranted are few and far between.

All this is not to say I wouldn't continue ship photography, but it likely will not be frequent enough to keep the once per week schedule I have tried to maintain in the past. Added to all this is the fact that I have been somewhat displeased with the format of this blog for a long time; I remember talking with the editor of CruiseBusiness.com back in 2015 that I would like to move to a format more based on travelogues and experiences, rather than dry reporting of facts.

As said in the beginning, I'm not sure where exactly this blog will be going. It might be that after such a long break I will end up simply not restarting this blog and this will the penultimate entry (I will do the one about the book in any case). What I am currently leaning towards, however, is finally changing this to a blog that is more about travelogues, other shipboard experiences, and more thematic photo sets (rather than ones about an individual ship). I have some ideas on this front that have been thinking of doing for a while, and maybe now is the time to turn them to reality?

Of course, if the latter way is the way that I'll go, that will likely mean the update frequency will continue to be of the sporadic once-a-month kind, as there will be less material actually worth an entry – but on the other hand, the entries should be more detailed.

Book news: Ferries 2019

Nick Widdows (ed): Ferries 2019. Ferry Publications: Ramsey 2018. 224 pages.

There is once again a new book out with a contribution from me: the 2019 edition of Ferry Publications' now-annual Ferries. And like with the entry on last year's Ferries, I have to start by apologising for the somewhat belated entry on this. We recently moved to a new apartment, and trying to find the time to do everything that needs doing normally plus slowly but surely putting everything in its right place in the new apartment is taking surprisingly long.

For those who are not familar with the series, Ferries 2019 is a database of all Northern European car/passenger ferries in international service, plus all ferries sailing in intra-British or Irish services, and roro cargo ferries sailing to/from Great Britain and Ireland. In addition to the extremely useful database, there are four articles in this year's edition: "A Short History of Polferries" and "Unity Line – A Baltic Success Story", both by Matthew Punter, "DFDS in 2018 – Masters of the European Seas" by Kai Ortel, and my own offering "Viking Line Today and Tomorrow."

As the name suggests, my "Viking Line Today and Tomorrow" is an overview of Viking Line's operations as they are today, plus a look into the newbuilding currently under construction in China and some thoughts on how the new ship is likely to effect the company's future. With the international readers in mind, I have tried my best to explain the different business models of the different services, and the varying products offered.

Matthew Punter's twin articles on Polferries and Unity Line are both wonderful explanations of the histories of these two big Polish, state-owned ferry companies. Not that much has been written in English on either company, so I think Matthew's articles here are highly welcome.

Finally, Kai Ortel's "DFDS in 2018 – Masters of the European Seas" recaps the eventful years 2017 and 2018 for DFDS. Also handily precursoring Kai's upcoming DFDS – Linking Europe, due for publication later this year.

Ferries 2019 is available in well-stocked booksellers. If you happen to live somewhere (like Finland) where no such sellers exist, my prime recommendation is order the book directly from the publishers.

New book: Innovation and Specialisation – The Story of Shipbuilding in Finland

In addition to the detailed text, Innovation and Specialisation is profusely illustrated, with many images never before seen in print.

It is finally here. Innovation and Specialisation – The Story of Shipbuilding in Finland is mine and Bruce Peter's new magnum opus, detailing the history of shipbuilding in my homeland for 328 pages, with circa 500 illustrations. It took years to make and it was occasionally an arduous process, but the end result more than makes up for it.

The main focus of the book is on ship design and the various innovative design solutions – such as the Azipod, Wärtsilä Air Bubbling System, the all outside ship and the double-acting ship, to name just a few – that were instrumental in making Finnish shipbuilders into some of the most highly regarded ones in the world. While most ship types built by Finnish yards are at least mentioned in the text, the emphasis is on ship types that are produced by Finnish yards today: ferries, cruise ships and icebreakers. Every cruise ship, icebreaker and ferry designed for international service built by Finnish shipyards since 1945 is described, up to and including those that are currently under order or construction.

The broad approach of the book is chronological, but it is divided into chapters dedicated to different ship types.

While the book discusses Finnish shipbuilding since the 18th century, focus is on the decades after the end of World War II, when Finnish shipbuilding grew exponentially. The importance of the Soviet Union as the driving force of this expansion – and the Soviet's subsequent position as the biggest customer for Finnish shipyards – is explored, as are the economic difficulties faced by Finnish yards following the fall of the Soviet Union. Similarly, the consolidation process and eventual demergers that resulted in the ownership structure that Finnish yards have today are discussed in detail.

Innovation and Specialisation – The Story of Shipbuilding in Finland can be purchased directly from the publishers, as well as from well-stocked bookshops and online retailers.

Guide to ship photo locations in Helsinki, part 1: Suomenlinna, Lonna and Vallisaari

To celebrate the 500th entry of this blog, today I will be doing something different. People have occasionally asked me for a guide to ship photo locations in Helsinki, and I thought making one would be a nice way to commemorate the milestone. When compiling these, I quickly realised there are simply too many photo spots in the city to include in one entry. So, today we will be looking at the photo spots in Suomenlinna and the surrounding islands (which are probably the most photogenic of the lot), which will allow you to photographs ships sailing to and from Eteläsatama (South Harbour), as well as icebreakers passing to their quays in Katajanokka, and the few remaining ships sailing to Sompasaari harbour (which is currently under redevelopment into a residential area).

The other photo spots for Eteläsatama (yes, there are more!) and those for Länsisatama (West Harbour) will have their own entries later on, if and when I will have the time and energy to write them.

Ship photo locations in Suomenlinna, Lonna and Vallisaari

The photo locations in and around Suomenlinna that I have used; see smaller map below for the precise locations at Kustaanmiekka (numbers 5-9). Satellite picture courtesy of Google.

Suomenlinna, Lonna and Vallisaari offer diverse views, and as the islands are located on different sides of the shipping lane, these give you a wide variety of options depending on the time of day and lighting conditions.

Lonna

1: Lonna is a small military island opened to the public a couple of years back. It's biggest advantage is the location just south of the main shipping lane out of the South Harbour, which passes the island in a roughly from west to east. Thus, whereas from most Suomenlinna locations (2-10) the side of the ship facing the camera will in the shade until circa 14.00-15.00 in the afternoon - and from Vallisaari (11-13) you will have the opposite problem - from Lonna you can get photos pretty much as long as it's light out. The ideal photo spot is a small quay on the north shore of the island.

Lonna is accessible by JT Line's ferries from Kauppatori (Market Square), with the crossing taking approximately seven minutes. The ferry only runs between May and August. Because the place is essentially deserted before this, barnacle geese and seagulls nest here in large numbers. If you visit early in the summer, move with care as both can be aggressive - and make sure you have enough time, so you can peacefully pass all the nests. The ferry quay is on the south side of the island, so there are potentially quite a few birds on the way.

As the main shipping lane passes quite close to Lonna, you get quite impressive views. Cruise ships at the Katajanokka cruise quay sometimes use the more northernly shipping lane, but this also gives decent views. The full set of the Funchal can be seen here.

Suomenlinna

Most Suomenlinna locations are only usable in the afternoon, after circa 14.00-15.00, due to the fact the main shipping lane passes from the east side of the island in roughly north-south direction. Note that parts of the island are a low-security prison and therefore not accessible to the public. Suomenlinna is accessibly by HSL (Helsinki Regional Transport Authority) ferry from Kauppatori around the year, JT Line ferry from Kauppatori between May and September, and JT Line ferry from Hakaniemi between June and August.

2: Suomenlinna guest harbour breakwater serves essentially the same function as Lonna, allowing views of the east-west shipping lane north of the islands. As Lonna allows superior views, this is really only a good spot during the time of the year when Lonna is not accessible.

The island in front of the ship is Lonna, so obviously you are shooting from much further away. The full set of the Ocean Countess can be seen here.

3: This random hill on the "wrong" side of the island offers great views of the ships approaching the Kustaanmiekka strait, with Suomenlinna itself in the foreground. The window for photos without obstructions in the foreground for front-views of departing ships is fairly narrow, but the forward views of arriving ships are quite great. Of course, there aren't too many evening arrivals...

For as long as I can remember, there has been a "do not enter - landscaping in progress" sign attached to a low rope fence around the hill, but there is nothing to stop you from climbing on top.

The best views from here are definately those of afternoon and evening arrivals. The full set with the Kristina Katarina can be seen here.

4: The beachfront north of the ramparts (discussed below) has quite often been the spot from where I've photographed when the ship has left early or when I've been delayed in getting to the prime spots. Still, there are some pretty nice views to be had. Note that the yellow building on the beach is a single-family home, so do not trespass on their yard (and maybe also don't include the residents in the photos without permission).

For aft views, this spot is not ideal, but for front views it's nice. The full set with the Empress can be seen here.

Satellite picture courtesy of Google.

5-9: The ramparts at Kustaanmiekka. There are multiple levels, with different ways of accessing them. The map here shows the continuous ramparts in green, accompanied by the numbers as in main map - except for number 9, which is a smaller spot and not a continuous rampart.

Note that, in most locations here, there are no safety railings and some spots are not easy to access.

5: The upper rampart is probably the place that gives the most impressive views. For best views, my recommendation is to climb atop the parapet (doable, but requires some dexterity and strength) - this also gives a chance to take aft views of departing ship without the need to move. Otherwise, you will need to be at the northern edge of 5 for the forward views, and then gallop to the southern edge for aft views. Again, doable, but the somewhat uneven ground is not ideal for running.

Yeah, this is the spot from which you take this particular shot, variations of which all of you must have seen hundreds of times now. A full set with the Minerva can be seen here.

6: The main viewing area is a place that you will have to share with other people but you do get nice views of both front and rear, with minimal need for movement. This is also the easiest spot to access (okay, number 5 isn't hard either, but it's higher up).

This spot gets you slightly closer to the ships than number 5, so you get a bit more dynamic shots. The full set with the Black Watch can be seen here.

7: The Kustaanmiekka beach front get you very close to the ships, albeit with a somewhat low angle. Access here is difficult: you can either walk along the waterline from the north, which will required some balancing on rocks right at the waterline, or you can climb through one of the windows under number 8 (reserve some time to find the correct one).

Same spot as in the picture above, but with a radically different angle. The full set with L'Austral can be seen here.

8: The rampart closest to the sea was closed to visitors a few years back, after a young child fell to their death from the rampart. You can get there by climbing over the fence in the northern edge of the rampart (visible in the photo for 6 above). Relatively many people do this, as the area was open for decades, and closing it seems strange when areas with just as potentially deadly drops are still open, with no safety fences put up either (case points, numbers 5 and 6). The photos are nice, and I have never seen anyone around to stop you from climbing over the fence - but of course, I don't recommend doing so either.

And of course, I have absolutely not gone to the area since it was closed myself. The full set with the Prinsendam can be seen here.

9: The south rocks only give you views towards the south, so this is only useful for evening arrivals (or if you really, really want aft views). Similarly to number 7, access is by climbing through a window below number 8 ramparts. You can theoretically also walk here along the beach from the west, but if I recall correctly there is a steep climb - at least I've never used that route myself.

The Viking XPRS' evening arrival is the main use for this location. This is one of the earliest photos actually put up in this blog, and the only photo I've posted from that particular session. I think my image editing skills have improved a bit since then.

10: The south beach is similar to number 9 in having a view only towards the south, but you can get some fairly neat shots, especially in windy weather when you get nice waves on the foreground.

Admittedly this spot is mainly good for ships you've already photographed before from both directions - but it's still a nice view. The full set with the Silja Symphony can be seen here.

Vallisaari

As with the others, Vallisaari is a former military island, but was only opened to the public in 2016. As there local ecosystem is quite rare, and unaacounted for explosives potentially remain in the ground, you should not stray from the marked paths. Due to being on the west side of the shipping lane, Vallisaari is ideal for photographing morning arrivals and departures; the light should remain okay until circa 14.00, though I've never actually been out there so late myself.

Both JT Line and Aava Lines serve Vallisaari from Kauppatori between May and September, and JT also sails from Hakaniemi between June and August. JT Line sails to Luotsipihan laituri on the north shore, while Aava goes to Torpedolahti in the east. Both are a bit removed from the main photo spots, but a bigger problem is that the first morning departures for both companies are too late to get to photograph the morning ferry arrivals. Thus, if you want to photograph the ferry arrivals, this will set you back over 100 euros (or that was the rate the last I checked) - so the best idea would be to gather a larger group to split the bill.

11: Kustaanmiekka towards the north. I know I just said you shouldn't stray from the marked paths, but this one will require you to do so. From the main gravel path towards number 12, a small path through the grass northwest to a small concrete tower; this is the only location that I've discovered so far that has any decent view towards the north, making it ideal for morning/mid-day departures. However, you can't really get decent aft views.

The place is fairly low, but you do get nicely dynamic shots. The full set with the Viking XPRS (including shots taken at number 13) can be seen here.

12: "Gibraltar of the North" is what this bit is called in the map of Vallisaari; it is a vieweing platform built specifically to give views over the Kustaanmiekka strait to Suomenlinna, and toward the sea in the south. Due to vegetation, the view towards the north is nonexistent (and the route between 11 and 12 is so long it's not really a workable to run from one to the other, as there's no coastal path). Resultingly, it's best for morning arrivals - but number 13 will give you much more impressive views.

Not a bad view at all. The full set with the Mariella (including shots taken at number 11) can be seen here.

13: Aleksanterin pattery is a former artillery battery on the highest point of the island. Metal walkways have been built above the battery, and the views are really, really great. For morning arrival, I'd say this definately the best place in Helsinki, also offering the most unique views.

The southern parts of the island, visible here in the foreground, is currently completely closed to the public. The full ser with the Silja Symphony can be seen here.

Book news: Ferries 2018

I received this book last week, and was going to do a blog update about it then, but a certain vomitting one-year-old put a small projectile vomit spanner in the works.

But gory details about life at the Id household aside, I've been in a book yet again. This time it's the 2018 edition of the yearly Ferries of British Isles and Northern Europe, published by Ferry Publications. As the name suggests, the "beef" of Ferries 2018 is a database of all Northern European car/passenger ferries in international service, plus all ferries sailing in intra-British or Irish services, and roro cargo ferries sailing to/from Great Britain and Ireland. In addition to the database (which is highly useful in itself), this year's version includes three articles: "Silja Line – 60 Years of Service" by yours truly, "Tallinn-Helsinki: Fit for the Future" by Matthew Punter, and "To Iceland in Wind and Storm" by Kai Ortel.

My "Silja Line – 60 Years of Service" is, as the name suggests, a short look into the history of the company since the formation of Siljarederiet in 1957. If you already own Silja Line from De Samseglande to Tallink, then there's probably nothing new in the article for you (apart from the few lines at the end about the re-separation of Silja Line and Tallink brands that is currently taking place). But if you don't own the book (and you should), this is a nice introduction to the history of the company.

"Tallinn-Helsinki: Fit for the Future" explains and explores the recent grances to Tallink's Helsinki-Tallinn fleet – not just the Megastar introduced earlier this year, but also the changes done to the Star, and the radical refit of the Silja Europa (which was of course also covered on this blog, both during and after the refit).

Finally, "To Iceland in Wind and Storm" is a rather perceptively written account of a Viking Cruise to Iceland and the Faroe Islands onboard Smyril Line's delightful Norröna – well worth a read!

The best way to buy the book is, of course, through Ferry Publications' website here. You can hopefully also find the book in well-stocked bookstores... but unfortunately we no longer have those in Finland, so if you live here and want a copy, off to Ferry Publications' site you go.

Crystal Luxury Air to Lloyd Werft Shipyards, 9-11 May 2016

Okay boys and girls, today we are going to try something a bit different: an actual travel report. I was going to post this earlier, but then wifi problems intervened. But it's still before midnight in the current local time (although not Finnish time), so here goes:

The Crystal Luxury Air jet that flew me from Italy to Germany and back again.

During the past three days, I have been whisked away from one press function to another, with one unifying theme: Crystal Cruises. As you already know, I'm sailing on the Crystal Symphony as a press representative on their Sales Gala cruise. But on Monday, 9 May, the cruise was interrupted by what Ralph Grizzle of The Avid Cruiser described as the longest shore excursion any of us had ever taken.

Early Monday morning, our group of 12 people (nine journalists and three people from Crystal, including the President and CEO Edie Rodriguez) got off the ship at Crotone and transferred to Crotone airport and the awaiting Crystal Luxury Air Bombardier Global Express XRS jet.

Inside the jet - which will hopefully get a proper name at some point, making it much easier to write about. Sitting closest to the camera is John Honeywell, alias Captain Greybeard.

Now I don't like flying. I never have. Apart from the fact that it's fast, I find it has nothing to defend it as a method of transport. Crystal's first aircraft made me change my mind. The small plane is quite simply gorgeous. For the first time in my (adult) life there is enough leg space, the service is fantastic, the food is fresh and tasty, and because it's a private jet then security procedures are much simplified.

The buffet for our little two-hour flight. Notice, on the plate, the actual menu for the meals available; the buffet was just for little snack things.

All this does come at a price: flying with the 12-seater plane sets you back 8 000 US dollars per hour, plus possible extra expenses. That 8 000 gets you the entire aircraft, however, so with a group sharing the price it might be worth it. I'm fairly certain I'll never be able to afford the plane with my income, but being able to fly with it from Italy to Germany and back was an experience I will not soon forget.

So, a little over two hours we had left Crotone we landed in Bremen, from where we transferred to a bus that speeded us to the nearby town of Bremerhaven and the Lloyd Werft shipyard for the opening of the Lloyd Werft Design Center. As eaders are probably aware, Genting Hong Kong (who also own Crystal Cruises) bought Lloyd Werft last year and quickly made evident their intention to build a series of new ships for Crystal at the yard. Subsequently, Genting also acquired the Nordic Yards company with three shipyards in Wismar, Warnemünde and Stralsund, which were recently merged with Lloyd Werft to form Lloyd Werft group. With the new Crystal Cruises ships in the works, Lloyd Werft group needs to radically expand their design capacity, thus the new Design Center, which is located in Lloyd Werft's former administrative building. Interestingly, the red brick house was originally built as a laundry to serve the ocean liners of Norddeutsche Lloyd (North German Lloyd) who, as the name suggests, were also the original owners of the shipyard.

Opening ceremony - or more precisely, after the opening ceremony - of Lloyd Werft Design Center (we actually arrived late and missed a part of the celebrations).

In fact, the Lloyd Werft Design Center will be fully operational on 30 May. As other related ceremonies were to be held this week, the yard decided to hold the opening ceremony at the same time. At least from the point of view of international coverage this was a smart move.

Edie Rodriguez of Crystal Cruises (left) with Rüdinger Pallentin of Lloyd Werft (right) shortly before the steel cutting for Crystal's first newbuilt river yachts commenced-

After lunch and a brief tour of the Design Center, it was back to a bus and towards our next destination: a factory in Bremen that Lloyd Werft had subcontracted to do the steel work of Crystal Cruises' four new luxury river yachts, the Crystal Debussy, Crystal Bach, Crystal Ravel and Crystal Mahler. Following instructions from one of the workers Edie Rodriguez pushed the button and the first piece of the new river cruise ships – a rather intricate shape – was cut. Although marketed as a quartet, the new ships are actually two not-identical pairs: the Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel will be 110 metres long and accommodate 80 passengers in lower berths while the Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler will be larger at 135 metres and 110 passengers. Regardless of size, all four are slated to enter service on the rivers of Central Europe in 2017.

The steel cutting machine made an impressive shower of sparks.

With the steel suitably cut, we left Bremen for Wismar (stopping en route for dinner at an obscure but pleasant town with the name Bargdeheide). In Wismar we checked in at a hotel for well-deserved rest after what had essentially been a 15-hour day.

The morning of our second day started off leisurely in Wismar; I took the time to find a shop selling hair gel and sunscreen (both of which I had forgotten to bring along), as well as try to find some buildings dating from East German era – Wismar lying just to the east of the border that divided Germany for over five decades. After that, it was time for another bus ride, this time to a business building near Lloyd Werft Group's Wismar yard where, we were promised, the actual contracts to build the first series of ships for Crystal Cruises would be signed (interestingly, this included the contracts for the four river ships that had already begun construction the day before!).

A random shot I snapped from Wismar's Old Town in the morning. Later on, I realised that the large building you see in the distance is Lloyd Werft's Wismar yard, so the image becomes highly appropriate.

However, as we arrived on site, I noticed there was an extra flag waving outside the venue: in addition to the to-be expected flags of Genting Hong Kong, Crystal Cruises and Lloyd Werft, there was also the flag of Star Cruises. This immediately got me thinking: would we see a new contract from Genting's first cruise brand today too? Entering the press room proved my hunch correct: proundly displayed were renderings of a new, large ship in Star Cruises colours. Once the press conference finally got underway, we learned that Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises were contracting no less than ten ships that day, for a combined price of 3,5 billion euros: six river cruise ships for Crystal (so two more than had previously been reported), as well as two ocean-going ships for the same company (an expedition yacht and the first of the projected three large Exclusive Class ships), and a pair of no less than 201 000 gross ton, 5 000 passenger mega cruise ships for Star Cruises, known as the Global class. And all ships are due to be delivered by 2020. Not a small feat, and no wonder they need to enlarge the design department!

Staff of the shipyard and Genting explain the cabin layout of Crystal Cruises' future ships to the assorted media. I hope they change the wall covering into something more refined in the final version.

After the contract signing and press conference, we took the bus once again, this time to the actual Lloyd Werft Group Wismar shipyard, where mock-ups giving an idea of the cabin size for Crystal's new ships had been erected, alongside with mock-ups showing the layout and size of cabins belonging to brands X and Y (which many in our group speculated were Seabourn and Silversea, though these theories were neither confirmed nor denied by the yard's staff). The standard cabins of the new Crystal ships are going to be, simply put, huge. Even on the river yachts, with their relatively small dimensions, the cabins will be circa 25 square metres, with the figure rising to 32 m2 on the ocean yacht Crystal Endeavour and a whopping 35 m2 on the Exclusive-class ocean ships. Not only that, but the ocean-going ships will have much higher ceiling heights than normal; holding up my arm, I could barely touch the ceiling – and I'm 190 centimetres tall, so there's a lot of reach there.

Assorted journalists and shipyard staff at Lloyd Werft, with Crystal's Edie Rodriguez andPaul Garcia in the center.

The tour of the mock-ups was followed by dinner at Wismar's historical city city hall. Following another night's sleep, we left early the next morning for the Lübeck airport, from where the as-of-yet-unnamed Crystal Luxury Air jet flew us to Naples. For the second time in my life, I was actually a big reticient to leave and airplane (the first time had, of course, been two days earlier, flying on the same plane in the opposite direction). Another bus took us from Naples airport to Sorrento, where we finally got back onboard the Crystal Symphony, after what seemed a lot longer than just 53 hours.

Back to the jet and the awaiting Crystal Symphony at the end of a superb two-day-plus tour.

This is Kalle Id, signing off from the balcony of cabin 8050 onboard the Crystal Symphony. Kships, as usual, will return.

Edited 14.5.2016: added author of the longest shore excursion quote.

New book with an article from me: Perspectives on the Development of Cruise Travel

Today, I received my author's copies of the 2015 yearbook of the Forum Marinum maritime museum. Last year, they ran an exhibition on the development on cruising in Finland. As I had researched the subject for my Master's Thesis, I helped gather material for the exhibition and to provided an article for the yearbook. (The exhibit is actually still open for two days, until 10 January, if anyone reading hasn't yet visited and can make it to Turku, Finland by Sunday).

Perspectives on the Development of Cruise Travel has numerous articles about both proper cruising and ferry cruising in the Finnish context.

My contribution to the book is essentially an abbreviated version of my master's thesis, outlining the attempts by the Finnish shipping companies Finnlines and Effoa to run proper cruises on both the Finnish and international market between the years 1965 and 1980. In addition to covering the realised cruise service (cruise service with the Nili, Finnpartner, Bore Star and Finnstar by Finnlines, as well as the Ilmatar and Regina by Effoa), the article also looks at the abortive cruise attempts of the era, such as Finnlines' unrealised Finncruiser newbuilding project, which served as a template for the first-generation newbuildings of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Royal Viking Line.

There are seven other articles in the book, on a wide variety of subjects related to cruising in the Finnish context. These range from a look at the development on passenger ship interiors to a travelogue from a cruise with the most successful Finnish cruise ship of all time, the Kristina Regina. Personally, I find Pauli Kivistö's article on the cruise operations of Rederi Ab Sally particularly interesting (and also a perfect companion piece to my own article).

Perspectives on the Development of Cruise Travel is 180 pages, with trilingual text in Finnish, Swedish and English. The book is limited edition and should be available to buy from both Forum Marinum's physical museum shop, as well as the webshop of Trafiikki museums (though it does not appear to be available on the latter website yet).