By
Rebecca Gibson |
Meyer Turku has signed a letter of intent to construct a €230 million, environmentally friendly car-passenger ferry for Tallink Grupp.
The 212-metre ferry, which will weigh 49,000gt and will be delivered in early 2017, will accommodate 2,800 passengers and operate on the route between Tallinn in Estonia and Helsinki in Finland. The project will provide around 2,000 man-years of employment for the shipyard.
Designed to comply with January 2015 sulphur emissions restrictions and emission control areas regulations in the Baltic Sea, the ship will be powered by LNG fuel. She will also feature technologies that help to reduce the amount of waste produced onboard.
“As the market leader and a long time operator on the route we have a good understanding of customer expectations and know what needs improvement,” said Janek Stalmeister, management board member of Tallink Grupp. “I am confident that the world-class experience of Meyer Turku will be once again a valuable asset for us to deliver a high quality new ferry, which will strengthen our competitive advantages.”
Over the next few months Tallink Grupp and Meyer Turku will work to finalise the shipbuilding contract and financing arrangements.
"Between 2002 and 2009, a series of six ferries have been delivered to Tallink and this ship will be the seventh newbuild for the same shipowne,” said Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku. “I´m very happy that Meyer Turku will continue the excellent and trusting cooperation with Tallink. This new ferry prototype gives us an excellent opportunity to apply improved design and building methods.”