Tallink New Cruise Ferry Floating

Aker Finnyards is building for the Estonian Hansatee Group, trading as Tallink, a big cruise ferry for the Gulf of Finland traffic. The vessel will have capacity for 2,500 passengers and 3,281 lane ft. On Friday December 14, the vessel got for the first time in its right element, as the valves were opened and she could float in the yard’s graving dock. Before the launching, she was christened as Romanika by Miss Nele Helen Pant, the daughter of Eve Pant, Hansatee Supervisory Board Member.

The ferry to be delivered in May 2002 will be Estonia’s biggest cruise ferry, which is expected to open a new era in the Baltic Sea passenger traffic. Special attention has been paid to passenger comfort and luxury already when designing the vessel. With seating capacity for 3,160 in the restaurants and lobbies, along with the 727 cabins including 2,178 beds, the interiors will be of cruise liner standard. The vessel has a length of 652 ft. and a beam of 95 ft. and gross tonnage of 40,000. Propulsion by four diesel engines totaling 26,240 kW will provide a service speed of 22 knots. The contract worth a billion Finnish marks means 1,500 manyears of work at the yard of Aker Finnyards.