MS Baltic Queen

Last updated

Baltic Queen underway in Tallinn Bay Tallinn 11 July 2021 (cropped).jpg
MS Baltic Queen in Tallinn on 11 July 2021
History
Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia
NameBaltic Queen [1]
Owner Tallink [2]
OperatorTallink
Port of registry Tallinn, Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia [2]
Route TallinnMariehamnStockholm
Ordered11 April 2007 [2]
Builder STX Europe, Rauma, Finland [3]
Cost 180 million [3]
Yard number1365 [2]
Laid down22 April 2008 [4]
Launched5 December 2008 [1]
Acquired16 April 2009 [5]
In service24 April 2009 [5]
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics [6]
Class and typeGalaxy class cruiseferry
Tonnage48,915  GT
Length212.10 m (695 ft 10 in) [2]
Beam29.00 m (95 ft)
Decks12
Ice class1 A Super
Installed power
  • 4 × Wärtsilä 16V32 diesels [2]
  • combined 32,000 kW (43,000 hp)
Speed24.5 kn (45 km/h; 28 mph)
Capacity
  • 2,800 passengers
  • 2,500 berths [2]
  • 1,130 lanemeters

MS Baltic Queen is a cruiseferry owned by the Estonia-based ferry operator Tallink. [5] The ship was built by the STX Europe shipyard in Rauma, Finland. [2]

Contents

Concept and construction

Initially known under the project name Cruise 5, Baltic Queen was ordered from (what was then) Aker Yards shipyard in Rauma, Finland in April 2007. She is a sister ship to MS Galaxy and MS Baltic Princess and Tallink's fifth newbuilt cruiseferry. [3] The ship's planned route was a mystery to the general public for a long time, until on 11 November 2008 Tallink revealed that she would be placed on the Tallinn–Stockholm service on completion. [7] The ship was launched from drydock and officially named Baltic Queen on 5 December 2008. By this time the shipyard had been renamed STX Europe. [1] Tallink took delivery of the ship on 16 April 2009. [5]

Service history

MS Baltic Queen in Tallinn on 23 April 2009 Baltic Queen Tallinn 2009-04-23.JPG
MS Baltic Queen in Tallinn on 23 April 2009

Baltic Queen entered service on the TallinnMariehamnStockholm route on 24 April 2009, replacing Tallink's first newbuilt ship MS Romantika, which was moved to the Riga–Stockholm service. [5] Baltic Queen's Tallink Silja fleetmate MS Silja Europa encountered problems with her steering on 22 November 2009, [8] and she had to be taken out of service for repairs. As a result, the Baltic Queen was moved to the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm service as a temporary replacement from 26 November until 11 December 2009. [9] From 7 August 2014 the ship started sailing from Tallinn to Helsinki, because MS Silja Europa was chartered to an Australian company due to its high fuel costs. MS Baltic Queen was then replaced with MS Romantika on the Tallinn-Mariehamn-Stockholm line. [10] At the end of 2018 once again it is on the TallinnMariehamnStockholm route.

Related Research Articles

Silja Line is a Swedish-Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car, cargo and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viking Line</span> Finnish shipping company

Viking Line Abp is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Viking Line is operated from Åland.

MS <i>Silja Europa</i> 10th largest cruiseferry in the world

MS Silja Europa is a cruiseferry constructed at Meyer Werft Germany for the Swedish ferry operator Rederi AB Slite, a part of Viking Line. At 59,914 gross tonnage (GT), she is the largest ship commissioned for and to ever operate for Tallink Silja, and is the tenth-largest cruiseferry in the world.

MS <i>Silja Serenade</i> 1990 ferry

MS Silja Serenade is a cruiseferry owned by the Estonian shipping company Tallink Grupp, operating under their Silja Line brand on a route connecting Helsinki to Stockholm via Mariehamn. She was built in 1990 by Masa-Yards at Turku New Shipyard, Finland. From 26 June 2020, to 13 September 2020, the ship's route was Helsinki–Riga, which got replaced by the cruiseferry MS Baltic Queen.

MS <i>Silja Symphony</i> 1991 ferry

MS Silja Symphony is a cruiseferry owned by the Estonian shipping company Tallink Group, operated under their Silja Line brand on a route connecting Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden via Mariehamn. She was built in 1991 at Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland.

MS <i>Mega Andrea</i> 1985 ship

Mega Andrea is a cruiseferry owned and operated by Corsica Ferries Sardinia Ferries. She was formerly owned and operated by the Estonia-based Tallink as the MS Silja Festival, and used on their route connecting Riga, Latvia to Stockholm, Sweden. She was built in 1986 by Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard, Finland, for Effoa as MS Wellamo for use on Silja Line traffic. She was rebuilt in 1992 at Lloyds Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany as Silja Festival. In 2008 the ship was transferred from the Silja Line fleet to that of Tallink, but she retained her Silja-prefixed name. After being replaced by MS Isabelle on the Stockholm-Riga route in May 2013 she was chartered as an accommodation ship to Kitimat, British Columbia. She was then sold in early 2015 to Corsica Ferries.

<i>Celestyal Crystal</i> Cruise ship

Celestyal Crystal is a cruise ship, operated between 2007 and 2023 by the Cyprus-based Louis Group's Louis Cruise Lines and Celestyal Cruises. The ship was originally built as the cruiseferry Viking Saga in the 1980 at Wärtsilä Perno Shipyard and Turku Shipyard, Turku, Finland for Rederi Ab Sally. In 1986 she was renamed Sally Albatross, and rebuilt into a cruise ship the following year. The ship was destroyed by a fire in 1990, and completely rebuilt at Finnyards, Rauma, Finland. She was re-delivered in 1992, still named Sally Albatross. After partially sinking 1994 she was rebuilt at Industrie Navali Meccaniche Affini, La Spezia, Italy, re-entering service as Leeward for Norwegian Cruise Line. Subsequently she sailed as SuperStar Taurus for Star Cruises, Silja Opera for Silja Line. After being temporarily renamed Opera she was in service with Louis Group as Louis Cristal and later Celestyal Crystal.

Tallink is an Estonian shipping company operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden and Finland to Sweden. It is the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea region. It owns Silja Line and a part of SeaRail. Tallink Hotels runs four hotels in Tallinn. It is also the co-owner of a taxi company Tallink Takso.

MS <i>Viking Cinderella</i> Cruiseferry built in 1989

MS Viking Cinderella is a cruiseferry built in 1989 at Wärtsilä Marine Perno Shipyard in Turku, Finland, as MS Cinderella for SF Line, one of the owners of the Viking Line consortium. She's currently used on cruise traffic from Stockholm to Mariehamn and occasionally Riga during the summer.

MS <i>Rigel III</i> 1978 ferry

The MS Rigel III is a cruiseferry owned by the Greek-based company Ventouris Ferries. She was built in 1979 as MS Turella by Wärtsilä Turku shipyard, Finland for SF Line for use in Viking Line traffic. In 1988 she was sold to Stena Line, becoming MS Stena Nordica. In 1996, she was transferred to Lion Ferry and was renamed MS Lion King. In 1998, she was sold to Tallink and renamed MS Fantaasia. As Fantaasia she also sailed under charter to Algérie Ferries, Comanav and Kystlink during the years 2005–2008. Following the end of her charter to Kystlink in 2008 the latter company bought her, renaming her MS Kongshavn. After Kystlink was declared bankrupt in late 2008 the ship was laid up until sold to the Croatia-based ferry operator Blue Line International, and operated on their service between Split and Ancona as MS Regina della Pace. In 2017 the ship was sold to the Greek-based company Ventouris Ferries and is currently operating on the route Bari-Durres.

MS <i>Vana Tallinn</i> 1973 ferry

MS Vana Tallinn was a cruiseferry owned by the Estonian ferry company Tallink and operated on the line between Kapellskär and Paldiski. She was built in 1974 by Aalborg Skibsværft AS, Aalborg, Denmark for DFDS as MS Dana Regina, and has sailed under the names MS Nord Estonia and MS Thor Heyerdahl.

MS <i>Regina Baltica</i> 1980 ferry

MS Regina Baltica is a cruiseferry owned by the Spanish shipping company Balearia. She was built in 1980 as Viking Song by Wärtsilä Perno shipyard, Finland for Rederi Ab Sally, one of the owners of the Viking Line consortium. She has also sailed under the names Braemar and Anna Karenina.

<i>Star Pisces</i>

MS Star Pisces was a cruise ship owned by Star Cruises and did short cruises from Hong Kong. She was originally built as the cruiseferry MS Kalypso in 1990 at Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland for Rederi AB Slite for use in Viking Line traffic. The ship was designed by Per Dockson. Star Pisces had a sister ship, Pearl Seaways.

MS <i>Arberia</i>

The MS Bore Star was a cruiseferry owned by Chryses Finance Co. and operated by Ilion Lines on their Trieste–Durres–Bari service. She was built in 1975 by Dubegion-Normandie, Nantes, France as Bore Star for Steamship Company Bore, which used her in Silja Line services on the Baltic Sea. During the northern hemisphere winter months she was chartered to Finnlines for cruise services on the African west coast. In 1980 she was sold to Finland Steamship Company and renamed Silja Star but retained in Silja Line service. Between 1986 and 1992 she was used in different cruise and ferry services around the world for various operators under the names Orient Express, Club Sea, Eurosun and Orient Sun. In 1992 her ownership passed to Wasa Line and she was renamed Wasa Queen for Baltic Sea ferry service. In 1993 Wasa Line was merged into Silja Line and Wasa Queen returned to the Silja Line fleet. In 2001 she was sold to Star Cruises for use in Far Eastern ferry services and later casino cruising with its daughter company Cruise Ferries without a change in name. In 2008 Wasa Queen was withdrawn from service and in 2009 sold to her current owners.

MS <i>Galaxy</i> 2006 ferry

MS Galaxy 1 is a cruise ferry built in 2006 by Aker Finnyards, Rauma, Finland and was at the time the largest ship delivered to ferry operator Tallink. Between 2006–2008 she held the distinction of being the largest ship ever to be registered in Estonia; a title later held by her replacement the sister ship MS Baltic Princess.

MS <i>Romantika</i> 2001 ferry

MS Romantika is a cruiseferry owned by the Estonian ferry company Tallink. The ship's latest use was on a charter to Holland Norway Lines for the route Kristiansand to Emden, until the ferry company's bankruptcy in 2023.

MS <i>Victoria I</i> Posidon ship

MS Victoria I is a cruiseferry owned by AS Tallink Grupp. It was chartered by the Scottish Government to provide temporary accommodation to those fleeing the war in Ukraine. The vessel was docked in the port of Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The ship, which was chartered until July 2023, had been providing people with accommodation until they secure somewhere to stay longer term. It took in its first Ukrainian residents in July 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltic Sea cruiseferries</span> Ferry operations in the Baltic

The Baltic Sea is crossed by several cruiseferry lines. Some important shipping companies are Viking Line, Silja Line, Tallink, St. Peter Line and Eckerö Line.

MV <i>Saga</i>

MS Saga is a cruiseferry owned by the Swedish shipping company Stena Line which it operated mainly on their route connecting Oslo, Norway to Frederikshavn, Denmark until March 2020, when that route was closed down. She was built as MS Silvia Regina in 1981 by Wärtsilä in Turku, Finland, for Rederi AB Svea for use in Silja Line traffic. The ship joined the Stena Line fleet in 1991, originally with the name MS Stena Britannica.

MS <i>Baltic Princess</i> 2008 ferry

MS Baltic Princess is a cruiseliner owned by the Estonia-based ferry operator Tallink and operated under their Silja Line brand. She was built by Aker Finnyards Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland in 2008. The ship began service on the cruise route between Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia on 17 August 2008. From 1 February 2013 the ship began service on the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Asklander, Micke. "M/S Baltic Queen (2009)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 July 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "New cruiseferry order". Tallink. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
  3. "Tallink's new cruise ferry keel will be laid today". Tallink. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Delivery of M/S Baltic Queen". Tallink. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  5. "Cruise Ferry for Tallink" (PDF). Aker Yards. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  6. "Tallink-Silja sijoittaa uuteen laivaan". Sisuradio (in Finnish). Sveriges Radio. 5 November 2008. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  7. Asklander, Micke. "M/S Silja Europa (1993)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  8. "Baltic Queen korvaa Silja Europan" (in Finnish). Iltalehti. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 27 November 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  9. "Tallink sends Silja Europa to Australia". The Baltic Course. Retrieved 20 November 2016.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to IMO 9443255 at Wikimedia Commons