Freight and passenger shipping company Finnlines will make major investments in its route between Finland, Åland and Sweden during 2023, by introducing two new Superstar freight-passenger vessels.
Construction began on Finnsirius, the first of the series of two freight-passenger (ro-pax) vessels, in June 2021. The vessel was delivered at the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai, China, on 18 July 2023.
Finnsirius will start operating on the Naantali–Långnäs–Kapellskär route in September 2023.
The second vessel, Finncanopus, is expected to be delivered by the end of 2023.
The two ships are the largest ro-pax vessels in the Finnlines fleet. The cargo capacity will increase by nearly 24% to 5,200 lane metres and passenger capacity will double from today’s 554 to 1,100.
‘Finnlines is proud to introduce the first Superstar and Finnsirius will be Finnlines’ flagship in both size and technology. As the Superstar ro-pax vessels enter the traffic, we will further increase economies of scale to support new business development and opportunities for our freight customers. In addition, we will be able to offer upgraded services for passengers, including several themed restaurants, a wide range of cabin categories, meeting rooms, a large shop, lounges, to name a few,’ says Antonio Raimo, line manager at Finnlines.
The new ro-pax vessels are part of Finnlines €500 million Green Newbuilding Programme, which comprises both ro-pax and ro-ro vessels, all equipped with state-of-the-art sustainable solutions. Three new hybrid ro-ro vessels started operating in summer 2022.
Source: Cyann Fielding, AntwerpXL 2023
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