31 August 2010
Non-paid advert
For those readers fortunate enough to understand Finnish, the August issue of webmagazine Ulkomatala was published today. Included in the magazine is, amongst other things, an article on the history of Finnish cruise ships written by yours truly. Eli siitä nyt lukemaan lehteä, hopi hopi!
Silja Serenade, 22 June 2010
Silja Serenade
IMO 8715259
Built 1990, Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland
Tonnage 58 376 GT
Length 203,03 m
Width 31,93 m
Draft 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
Silja Serenade was the first ship in the world to have an indoor promenade running along the centerline of the ship (not counting Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique's L'Atlantique of 1931). The construction on her and her sister Silja Symphony was a somewhat lenghty process. There was some discussion within the company on whether to build new ships or lengthen and otherwise improve the existing Helsinki-Stockholm ships Finlandia (present-day Princess Maria) and Silvia Regina (present-day Stena Saga). In the end building new ships won the day, and in October 1987 Effoa signed a contract for building the first of the new ships with Wärtsilä Marine.
Wärtsilä Marine went bankrupt in October 1989 while the ship was under construction. The construction work was continued by the newly-formed Masa-Yards, in which Effoa and the other Silja Line partner Johnson Line were shareholders. Never the less the bankruptcy meant that the new ships were delayed and they prices rose. By the time the Silja Serenade was delivered, Effoa and Johnson Line had merged into EffJohn, and it was EffJohn that took delivery of the ship in November 1990.
Externally the Silja Serenade and her sister are surprisingly successful, considering their basix shape is essentially that of a floating box with an almost non-existent bow. The stripey paintwork certainly helps a lot in breaking up the bulky shape, but there are many, many other constructions details that improve the ship's looks, such as the superstructure being slightly narrower than the hull, the rounded forward superstructure (and the observation windows with a reverse slant compared to that of the rest of the superstructure), the high-placed bridge and the shape of the rear superstructure. Onco you go bown to the smallest details there are some things that do not appear fully thought-out, such as irrigularly shaped and placed windows, but the overall effect is pleasantly balanced.
Photographs below are of the Silja Serenade passing through the Kustaanmiekka strait on 22 June 2010. Photographed from above the King's Gate in Kustaanmiekka itself. Click on the images to view full size.
IMO 8715259
Built 1990, Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland
Tonnage 58 376 GT
Length 203,03 m
Width 31,93 m
Draft 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
Silja Serenade was the first ship in the world to have an indoor promenade running along the centerline of the ship (not counting Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique's L'Atlantique of 1931). The construction on her and her sister Silja Symphony was a somewhat lenghty process. There was some discussion within the company on whether to build new ships or lengthen and otherwise improve the existing Helsinki-Stockholm ships Finlandia (present-day Princess Maria) and Silvia Regina (present-day Stena Saga). In the end building new ships won the day, and in October 1987 Effoa signed a contract for building the first of the new ships with Wärtsilä Marine.
Wärtsilä Marine went bankrupt in October 1989 while the ship was under construction. The construction work was continued by the newly-formed Masa-Yards, in which Effoa and the other Silja Line partner Johnson Line were shareholders. Never the less the bankruptcy meant that the new ships were delayed and they prices rose. By the time the Silja Serenade was delivered, Effoa and Johnson Line had merged into EffJohn, and it was EffJohn that took delivery of the ship in November 1990.
Externally the Silja Serenade and her sister are surprisingly successful, considering their basix shape is essentially that of a floating box with an almost non-existent bow. The stripey paintwork certainly helps a lot in breaking up the bulky shape, but there are many, many other constructions details that improve the ship's looks, such as the superstructure being slightly narrower than the hull, the rounded forward superstructure (and the observation windows with a reverse slant compared to that of the rest of the superstructure), the high-placed bridge and the shape of the rear superstructure. Onco you go bown to the smallest details there are some things that do not appear fully thought-out, such as irrigularly shaped and placed windows, but the overall effect is pleasantly balanced.
Photographs below are of the Silja Serenade passing through the Kustaanmiekka strait on 22 June 2010. Photographed from above the King's Gate in Kustaanmiekka itself. Click on the images to view full size.
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| Approaching the narrowest point of the strait. |
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| And navigating through the narrows, with the usual spectators watching. |
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| Sailing towards the Harmaja lighthouse and the open sea. |
30 August 2010
Trinacria, 28 May 2009
Trinacria
IMO 9261542
Built 2002, C.N. "Visentini" di Visentini Francesco & C. Donada, Italy
Tonnage 26 000 GT
Length 186,50 m
Width 26,60 m
Draugth 6,50 m
950 passengers
308 passenger beds
75 cars
2 050 lane metres of freight
2 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 18 900 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 22,5 knots
Trinacria and her sister Partenope are utilized by TTT Lines (Tomasos Transport & Tourism) on an overnight intra-Italy service between Catania and Naples. Following the completion on these two sisters, the same shipyard has delivered a whopping 16 ships based on the same design (though with increasing number of changes) to a number of different companies.
IMO 9261542
Built 2002, C.N. "Visentini" di Visentini Francesco & C. Donada, Italy
Tonnage 26 000 GT
Length 186,50 m
Width 26,60 m
Draugth 6,50 m
950 passengers
308 passenger beds
75 cars
2 050 lane metres of freight
2 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 18 900 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 22,5 knots
Trinacria and her sister Partenope are utilized by TTT Lines (Tomasos Transport & Tourism) on an overnight intra-Italy service between Catania and Naples. Following the completion on these two sisters, the same shipyard has delivered a whopping 16 ships based on the same design (though with increasing number of changes) to a number of different companies.
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| Trinacria in the port of Catania on 28 May 2009, photographed from onboard MSC Sinfonia. Click on the image to view full size. |
29 August 2010
Kristina Katarina, 29 August 2010
Kristina Katarina
IMO 7625811
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
Kristina Katarina is Kristina Cruises' new flagship, taking over the mantle of the only genuine Finnish cruise ship in existance from the Kristina Regina, which has been sold to a preservationist group in Turku.
Like the ship she replaced, the Kristina Katarina has an interesting history. She was built as the Konstantin Simonov in 1982 in Poland for the Soviet Union's Baltic Shipping Company as essentially a short-distance liner with a small side-loadable garage for 14 cars. As one of the seven Dmitriy Shostakovich -class ferries built, she was used on a service linking Leningrad to Helsinki and Stockholm. Following the fall of the Soviet Union the Baltic Sea operations of Baltic Shipping Company were reorganized as Baltic Line in 1992. She continued in service between St. Petersburg (as it was now called), but made 24-hour cruises from Helsinki to Kronstadt, Gogland (Suursaari) and Vyosotsk (Uuras).
All this came to an end in May 1996 when Baltic Line went bankrupt. In 1996 the Konstantin Simonov was sold to Venezuelan owners and renamed Francesca for planned cruise service out of Australian ports. This never materialized, and the Francesca was laid up in Wilhelmshaven for four years. In 2000 she was finally sold, to Abcus Shipping, who chartered the ship to Mano Maritime based in Israel With Mano the ship was renamed The Iris and used for cruising out of Israel. In 2001 she was rebuilt with additional public rooms on the top deck forward of the funnel. Presumably around the same time her small car deck was also removed.
In 2009, following the acquisition of larger tonnage by Mano Maritime, The Iris was sold to Kristina Cruises as a replacement for the Kristina Regina. Still retaining her earlier name, The Iris sailed back to the Baltic in winter 2009-2010 to be rebuilt in Kristina Cruises home port Kotka. Following a lengthy rebuilding during which her entire interior was rebuilt, the ship was renamed Kristina Katarina in July 2010. On 28 August 2010 she left on her first cruise as Kristina Katarina from Kotka to Helsinki via Tallinn.
Photographs below are of the Kristina Katarina's maiden arrival in Helsinki on 29 August 2010 (naturally she has visited Helsinki repeatedly as the Konstantin Simonov). Photographs taken from Kaivopuisto. Click on the images to view full size.
IMO 7625811
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
Kristina Katarina is Kristina Cruises' new flagship, taking over the mantle of the only genuine Finnish cruise ship in existance from the Kristina Regina, which has been sold to a preservationist group in Turku.
Like the ship she replaced, the Kristina Katarina has an interesting history. She was built as the Konstantin Simonov in 1982 in Poland for the Soviet Union's Baltic Shipping Company as essentially a short-distance liner with a small side-loadable garage for 14 cars. As one of the seven Dmitriy Shostakovich -class ferries built, she was used on a service linking Leningrad to Helsinki and Stockholm. Following the fall of the Soviet Union the Baltic Sea operations of Baltic Shipping Company were reorganized as Baltic Line in 1992. She continued in service between St. Petersburg (as it was now called), but made 24-hour cruises from Helsinki to Kronstadt, Gogland (Suursaari) and Vyosotsk (Uuras).
All this came to an end in May 1996 when Baltic Line went bankrupt. In 1996 the Konstantin Simonov was sold to Venezuelan owners and renamed Francesca for planned cruise service out of Australian ports. This never materialized, and the Francesca was laid up in Wilhelmshaven for four years. In 2000 she was finally sold, to Abcus Shipping, who chartered the ship to Mano Maritime based in Israel With Mano the ship was renamed The Iris and used for cruising out of Israel. In 2001 she was rebuilt with additional public rooms on the top deck forward of the funnel. Presumably around the same time her small car deck was also removed.
In 2009, following the acquisition of larger tonnage by Mano Maritime, The Iris was sold to Kristina Cruises as a replacement for the Kristina Regina. Still retaining her earlier name, The Iris sailed back to the Baltic in winter 2009-2010 to be rebuilt in Kristina Cruises home port Kotka. Following a lengthy rebuilding during which her entire interior was rebuilt, the ship was renamed Kristina Katarina in July 2010. On 28 August 2010 she left on her first cruise as Kristina Katarina from Kotka to Helsinki via Tallinn.
Photographs below are of the Kristina Katarina's maiden arrival in Helsinki on 29 August 2010 (naturally she has visited Helsinki repeatedly as the Konstantin Simonov). Photographs taken from Kaivopuisto. Click on the images to view full size.
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| A familar silhouette on Kruunuvuorenselkä after 14 years. Updated/re-treated 30. 8. 2010 |
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| Turning in Eteläsatama's pool, with Uspenski Cathedral (Alexey Gornostaev 1868) in the background. |
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| Kristina Katarina arrived somewhat ahead of schedule and had some trouble manoeuvring into quay. (Which meant Viking Line's Gabriella had to back out of quay instead of turning in the harbour pool). |
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| Backing into the quay at Kanavaterminaali (instead of Pakkahuoneenlaituri Kristina Regina used or the quay at Makasiiniterminaali that the Konstantin Simonov used). |
AIDAdiva, 27 May 2009
AIDAdiva
IMO 9334856
Built 2007, Meyer Werft Papenburg, Germany
Tonnage 69 203 GT
Length 251,89 m
Width 32,20 m
Draugth 7,20 m
2 500 passengers
4 MaK diesels, combined 36 000 kW
2 azipods
2 bow thrusters
2 stern thusters
Speed 19,5 knots
AIDAdiva is the lead ship of AIDA Cruises' Sphinx-class (there isn't, at least yet, a ship in the class called AIDAsphinx, however), part of AIDA Cruises large-scale newbuilding plan encompassing six ships. AIDA Cruises is in fact a part of Costa Cruises and as such a member of the world's largest cruise company Carnival Corporation & PLC. However, unlike all other Carnival brands, which trust Italy's Fincantieri to provide their ships, AIDA's Sphinx-class ships have been built at Germany's Meyer Werft and to a design that's (at least thus far) unique to AIDA's fleet, instead of being a generic design spread though the various Carnival brands. Perhaps this is in part due to AIDA's brand as an informal, club-like cruise line that is quite different from other Carnival brands (there was an attempt to establish a similar brand for the UK market with Ocean Village, but that was a failure. In the US market the informal cruises are provided by Carnival's competitor Norwegian Cruise Line).
Externally AIDAdiva has the same design elements that have been present in all newbuilt AIDA ships since the original AIDA (from 2001 named AIDAcara), with the wedge-shaped stern, rounded forward superstructure and swept-back funnel (interestingly, much of the design has reportedly been based on the rebuilt Sally Albatross of 1992, which AIDA's original owners Deutsche Seereederei apparently considered buying before deciding on a newbuilt ship instead). AIDAdiva and her sisters add interesting new elements to the design, such as the two-level bridge structure reminescent of the Baltic cruiseferry Finnjet (and Disney Cruise Line's ships) and the large bowl-shaped window protruding from the ship's side. Though these features certainly make the ship more interesting on the inside (and I admit that's the part that really matters), on the exterior the ship does look less well-designed than the previous AIDA newbuilds. The Sphinx-class ships lack coordination of design elements what the AIDAcara and the AIDAvita/AIDAaura sisters had.
IMO 9334856
Built 2007, Meyer Werft Papenburg, Germany
Tonnage 69 203 GT
Length 251,89 m
Width 32,20 m
Draugth 7,20 m
2 500 passengers
4 MaK diesels, combined 36 000 kW
2 azipods
2 bow thrusters
2 stern thusters
Speed 19,5 knots
AIDAdiva is the lead ship of AIDA Cruises' Sphinx-class (there isn't, at least yet, a ship in the class called AIDAsphinx, however), part of AIDA Cruises large-scale newbuilding plan encompassing six ships. AIDA Cruises is in fact a part of Costa Cruises and as such a member of the world's largest cruise company Carnival Corporation & PLC. However, unlike all other Carnival brands, which trust Italy's Fincantieri to provide their ships, AIDA's Sphinx-class ships have been built at Germany's Meyer Werft and to a design that's (at least thus far) unique to AIDA's fleet, instead of being a generic design spread though the various Carnival brands. Perhaps this is in part due to AIDA's brand as an informal, club-like cruise line that is quite different from other Carnival brands (there was an attempt to establish a similar brand for the UK market with Ocean Village, but that was a failure. In the US market the informal cruises are provided by Carnival's competitor Norwegian Cruise Line).
Externally AIDAdiva has the same design elements that have been present in all newbuilt AIDA ships since the original AIDA (from 2001 named AIDAcara), with the wedge-shaped stern, rounded forward superstructure and swept-back funnel (interestingly, much of the design has reportedly been based on the rebuilt Sally Albatross of 1992, which AIDA's original owners Deutsche Seereederei apparently considered buying before deciding on a newbuilt ship instead). AIDAdiva and her sisters add interesting new elements to the design, such as the two-level bridge structure reminescent of the Baltic cruiseferry Finnjet (and Disney Cruise Line's ships) and the large bowl-shaped window protruding from the ship's side. Though these features certainly make the ship more interesting on the inside (and I admit that's the part that really matters), on the exterior the ship does look less well-designed than the previous AIDA newbuilds. The Sphinx-class ships lack coordination of design elements what the AIDAcara and the AIDAvita/AIDAaura sisters had.
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| AIDAdiva in the harbour of La Goulette, Tunisia on 27 May 2009, photographed from onboard MSC Sinfonia. Click on the image to view full size. |
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