This article needs to be updated.(November 2020) |
Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Shipping |
Founded | 1957 |
Headquarters | Helsinki, Finland [1] |
Area served | Northern Europe |
Key people | Margus Schults |
Products | Ferries, port services, passenger transportation, freight transportation, holidays, business travel |
Parent | AS Tallink Grupp |
Website | www.tallinksilja.com |
Silja Line is a Finnish shipping company and cruiseferry brand owned and operated by the Estonian shipping company AS Tallink Grupp, for car, cargo and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden.
The former company Silja Oy—today Tallink Silja Oy—is, since 2006, a subsidiary of AS Tallink Grupp, handling marketing and sales for Tallink and Silja Line brands in Finland as well as managing Tallink Silja's ship employees. Another subsidiary, Tallink Silja AB, handles marketing and sales in Sweden. Strategical corporate management is performed by Tallink Grupp which also own the ships. [2]
As of 2009, four ships service two routes under the Silja Line brand, transporting about three million passengers and 200,000 cars every year. [3] The Silja Line ships have a market share of around 50 percent on the two routes served.
The Silja Line logo features the text Silja Line and a figure of a seal. [4] Since 2014, the figure of the seal has been smiling. [5] The famous theme tune heard in Silja Line's television commercials comes from the tune "Un homme et une femme" ("A man and a woman") by the French film composer Francis Lai. [6]
The history of Silja Line can be traced back to 1904, when two Finnish shipping companies, Finland Steamship Company (Finska Ångfartygs Aktiebolaget, FÅA for short) and Steamship Company Bore, started collaborating on Finland–Sweden traffic. The initial collaboration agreement was terminated in 1909, but re-established in 1910. After World War I in 1918, a new agreement was made that also included the Swedish Rederi AB Svea. Originally the collaboration agreement applied only on service between Turku and Stockholm, but it was also applied to the Helsinki–Stockholm route in 1928. As a precursor to the policies later adopted by Silja Line, each of the three companies ordered a near-identical ship for Helsinki–Stockholm service to coincide with the 1952 Summer Olympics, held in Helsinki. [7] Eventually only Finland SS Co.'s SS Aallotar was ready in time for the Olympics. [8] At this time the city of Helsinki constructed the Olympia Terminal in Helsinki's South Harbour, which Silja Line's ships still use. [9]
Realising that car-passenger ferries would be the dominant traffic form in the future, the three collaborating companies decided to form a daughter company, Oy Siljavarustamo/Siljarederiet Ab. [10] The new company started out with used ships, which were not particularly well-fitted for the role they were meant for, [10] but in 1961 Silja took delivery of the new MS Skandia, the first purpose-built car-passenger ferry in the northern Baltic Sea. Skandia's sister MS Nordia followed the next year and the era's giant MS Fennia in 1966. [11] Two more ships based on the Skandia design, MS Botnia and MS Floria, were delivered in 1967 and 1970 respectively. [12] [13]
Despite the establishment of Silja, FÅA, Bore and Svea also continued to operate on the same routes with their own ships. This led to a somewhat complex situation where four different companies were marketed as one entity. In Finland they went by the name Ruotsinlaivat ('Sweden's Ships' or 'Ships to Sweden') whereas in Sweden the preferred terms were Det Samseglande (roughly 'the ones that sail together'), Finlandsbåten ('Finland's Ships') or Sverigebåten ('Sweden Ships'). In both countries the names of all four companies were usually displayed alongside the group identity. [14]
In 1967, three of Silja's rival companies had formed a joint marketing and coordination company, Viking Line, which was to become Silja Line's main rival for the next two decades. [15] FÅA, Bore and Svea soon realised that a similar arrangement would be preferable to their current fragmented image, and in 1970 a big change was carried out within the organisations: Silja Line was established as a joint marketing and coordination company between FÅA, Bore and Svea, and the ships of Siljavarustamo were divided between these three. All Silja Line ships were painted in the same colour scheme, with a white hull and superstructure, with Silja Line and the seal's head logo on the side in dark blue. [16] Each company retained their own funnel colours, so it was easy to distinguish which ship belonged to which company even from a distance: Svea's funnels were white with a large black S, FÅA's were black with two white bands, and Bore's were yellow with a blue/white cross.
Already before the reorganisation Silja had ordered two new ships from Dubigeon-Normandie S.A. of Nantes to begin year-round service between Helsinki and Stockholm (until then the route was summers only). In 1972, these were delivered to FÅA and Svea as MS Aallotar and MS Svea Regina, respectively. Passenger numbers on the Helsinki route grew fast and already in 1973 it was decided that the three companies would each order a ship of identical design from the same shipyard to replace the current Helsinki–Stockholm ships. These were delivered in 1975, first MS Svea Corona and MS Wellamo, followed by MS Bore Star in December. However, winter passenger numbers were insufficient for three ships, and as a result Bore Star was chartered to Finnlines during the winters of 1975–76 and 1976–77. [16] In 1976 Finland SS Co changed its name to Effoa (the Finnish phonetic spelling of FÅA). [17] During the latter part of the 1970s Effoa's old ferries MS Ilmatar and MS Regina cruised the Baltic, Norwegian fjords and the Atlantic (from Málaga) under the marketing name Silja Cruises. [16]
In 1979, Svea and Effoa decided again to order new ships for the Helsinki–Stockholm route, which would be the largest ferries of their time. Bore, however, decided not to participate in building new ships, and in 1980 opted to bow out of passenger traffic altogether (Bore Line still exists as a freight-carrying company). [16] Their two ships were sold to Effoa and their shares of Silja Line split between the two other companies. [17] In Finland, and later in Sweden, a large maritime strike in spring 1980 stopped ferry traffic completely and prompted Effoa to terminate the Silja Cruises service. [18]
Despite the difficulties Silja's first real cruiseferries, Finlandia and MS Silvia Regina, entered service in 1981, which led to a 45% raise in passenger numbers. Late in the same year Johnson Line purchased Rederi AB Svea, and the former Svea ships received Johnson Line's blue/yellow colours. The good experiences with the new Helsinki ships prompted Effoa and Johnson Line to order two ships built on a similar principle for traffic on the Turku–Stockholm route, which were delivered in 1985 and 1986 as MS Svea and MS Wellamo. Although similar in proportions and interior layout, the new ships sported an attractive streamlined superstructure instead of the box-like superstructure of Finlandia and Silvia Regina. [18]
1987 was a very eventful year for Silja. Effoa had purchased the famously fast GTS Finnjet the previous year and from the beginning of 1987 the prestigious but unprofitable "Queen of the Baltic Sea" joined Silja Line's fleet. Later in the same year Effoa and Johnson Line jointly purchased Rederi Ab Sally, one of the owners of their rival Viking Line. The other Viking Line partners forced the new owners to sell their share in Viking, but Effoa and Johnson Line retained Vaasanlaivat / Vasabåtarna, Sally Cruises, Sally Ferries UK and Commodore Cruise Line. Although the purchase of Sally had no effect on Silja Line's traffic for the time being, it proved to be important later. Finally, 1987 saw another order of new ships for the Helsinki–Stockholm route, which would again be the largest ferries ever built, eventually named MS Silja Serenade and MS Silja Symphony. Not revealed at the time, the new ships had a 140-meter promenade-street running along the center of the ship, a feature never seen before in a ship, but by the first decade of the 21st century commonly found on Royal Caribbean International's and Color Line's newer ships. [18]
In late 1989, Wärtsilä Marine, the shipyard building Silja's new cruiseferries, went bankrupt, which led to the ships being delivered later than had been planned. To ensure the delivery of their ferries Effoa and Johnson Line both purchased a part of the new Masa-Yards established to continue shipbuilding in Wärtsilä's former shipyards. [18]
The year 1990 saw the realisation of an old vision: Effoa and Johnson Line merged to form EffJohn. As a result, the seal's head logo replaced the colours of each individual owner company on the funnel. In November, the new MS Silja Serenade made its maiden voyage from Helsinki to Stockholm, approximately seven months after the original planned delivery date. MS Silja Symphony was delivered the following year. Although popular and sporting a successful design, the new ships had been very expensive. This expense, coupled with the depression in the early 1990s, forced EffJohn to cut costs, which resulted in Wasa Line and Sally Cruises being merged into Silja Line in 1992. Also in 1992, Svea and Wellamo were modernised and renamed Silja Karneval and Silja Festival, respectively. [19]
The year 1993 began with a bang. In January it was reported that Silja Line had chartered MS Europa, a ship under construction for Rederi AB Slite, one of the owners of Viking Line. Because of financial troubles Slite could not pay for their new ship, and the shipyard decided to charter it to Silja instead. Later in the same year Silja joined forces with Euroway on their Malmö–Travemünde–Lübeck route. The route proved unprofitable and was terminated in spring 1994. [19]
MS Sally Albatross was grounded outside Helsinki in spring 1994 and suffered major damage, which prompted Silja to give up traffic on her. September 1994 saw the largest peace-time maritime disaster on the Baltic Sea, the sinking of MS Estonia. Silja Europa, Silja Symphony and Finnjet all assisted in searching for survivors from the disaster. Silja Festival was berthed opposite Estonia in Tallinn the day before the sinking, [20] but she was in Helsinki when Estonia sank and did not come to her assistance. The Estonia sinking led to passenger numbers dropping, which did not help Silja's precarious financial situation. The company was now the largest on the Baltic Sea, having finally overtaken Viking Line in 1993, but financially it was not doing well. In 1995, Effjohn changed their name to Silja Oy Ab. Three years later the name was changed again, this time to Neptun Maritime. [19]
In 1999, Silja faced two big changes. Tax-free sales ended on routes between EU countries, which forced the Helsinki–Stockholm ships to start calling at Mariehamn in Åland, whose autonomous status within Finland allowed them to stay outside the EU tax union after the country joined the EU in 1994 and so avoid the end of tax-fee sales. A bigger change was Sea Containers purchasing the majority of Neptun Maritime's shares. [19] In 2000, the new owners brought one of their Super SeaCats into service on the Helsinki–Tallinn route and Neptun Maritime again changed its name, this time to Silja Oyj Abp. In the same year the route between Vaasa and Umeå was terminated as unprofitable. [21]
By 2004, Sea Containers owned Silja Line entirely. The company was doing well financially and all seemed to be going well. However, Sea Containers' other operations were not as profitable and in late 2005 they announced their intent to give up their ferry division completely; this naturally including selling Silja Line. In preparation for the sale, the unprofitable Finnjet and MS Silja Opera were taken out of service and transferred under Sea Containers' ownership. Silja Serenade and Symphony were also rebuilt in early 2006 to make them more attractive to potential buyers. [21]
May 2006 saw the sale of Silja Line to the Estonian Tallink. The SuperSeaCats trafficking between Helsinki and Tallinn were not included in the sale as their purchase would have given Tallink a dominant market position on the route, which would have resulted in the competition regulators of Finland and Estonia not approving the sale. As a result, Sea Containers, after barely a year before announcing their intention to give up the ferry business completely, continued operating them under the SuperSeaCat brand. In late 2006 the land organisations of Tallink and Silja Line were reorganised in Finland so that Tallink Finland and Superfast Finland were merged into Oyj Silja Abp, which now took care of all Finnish operations of Tallink/Silja. Shortly afterwards Oyj Silja Abp was renamed into Tallink Silja Oy. Similarly the land organisations in Sweden became Tallink Silja AB. [21]
Tallink stated that it intended to keep the Silja Line brand separated from Tallink. [22] However, most Silja Line marketing in Finland[ citation needed ] and Sweden has since the takeover been made under the combined Tallink Silja name. [23]
In July 2008, the Tallink ship MS Galaxy replaced the Silja Festival on the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route. The Galaxy was flagged to Sweden [24] and the text Silja Line was painted on her hull sides. The Tallink logo remained on her funnel and the Navitrolla-designed livery of the ship, which differs from the livery of other Silja ships, was not altered. [25] The Silja Festival, while remaining registered under the same name, was in turn moved to Tallink's Stockholm–Riga route, her funnel repainted in Tallink colours and the text Tallink painted on her sides.
In October 2009, the Managing Director of Silja Line (Tallink Silja Oy), Keijo Mehtonen, retired and Margus Schults was appointed to the post. [26]
In February 2013 MS Baltic Princess switched routes with the MS Silja Europa, with Baltic Princess now placed on the Turku–Stockholm route and Silja Europa on Helsinki–Tallinn cruises.
In July 2022, Tallink announced that MS Galaxy would be withdrawn in September 2022 from the Turku–Stockholm service for at least seven months. One month later, it was announced that Galaxy's sister ship on the same route, MS Baltic Princess, at the same time would abandon calls at Mariehamn and Stockholm, instead calling at Långnäs and Kapellskär respectively. Tallink states that these changes are temporary and that full service would resume after the market downturn. [27]
Ship | Type | Built | Entered service | Gross tonnage | Passengers (max) | Vehicles | Knots | Route | Flag and home port | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MS Silja Serenade | Cruiseferry | 1990 | 1990– | 58,376 GT | 2.852 | 450 | 23 | Helsinki – Mariehamn – Stockholm | Mariehamn, Finland | |
MS Silja Symphony | Cruiseferry | 1991 | 1991– | 58,376 GT | 2.852 | 450 | 23 | Helsinki – Mariehamn – Stockholm | Stockholm, Sweden | |
MS Baltic Princess | Cruiseferry | 2008 | 2013– | 48,915 GT | 2.800 | 600 | 24,5 | Turku – Mariehamn / Långnäs – Stockholm | Mariehamn, Finland | |
Ships that are still in use are marked in green.
Ship | Built | Owner/operator | In service | Current status |
---|---|---|---|---|
SS Silja | 1915 | Siljavarustamo | 1957–1967 | Scrapped in Helsinki, Finland, 1971. |
SS Warjo | 1927 | Siljavarustamo | 1957–1964 | Scrapped in Baia, Romania, 1983. |
SS Regin | 1960 | Siljavarustamo | 1960–1961 | Scrapped in Göteborg, Sweden, 1968. |
MS Skandia | 1961 | Siljavarustamo Finland Steamship Company | 1961–1974 | Sunk in the Atlantic, 1986. |
MS Nordia | 1962 | Siljavarustamo Rederi AB Svea | 1962–1974 | Scrapped in Eleusis, Greece, 1988. |
MS Fennia | 1964 | Siljavarustamo Svea Line (Finland) EffJohn; Silja Line | 1966–1970 1970–1984 1993–2001 | Scrapped in 2010. |
MS Botnia | 1967 | Siljavarustamo Steamship Company Bore | 1967–1970 1970–1975 | Sunk outside Morocco, 2008. |
SS Bore | 1960 | Steamship Company Bore | 1970–1976 | Since 2010 hotel/restaurant/museum ship. |
MS Ilmatar | 1964 | Finland Steamship Company | 1970–1974 1978–1980 | Scrapped in 2015. |
SS Birger Jarl SS Bore Nord | 1970 | Rederi AB Svea Steamship Company Bore | 1970–1973 1974–1976 | Since 2002 MS Birger Jarl for Ånedin Linjen. |
MS Floria | 1970 | Finland Steamship Company | 1970–1975 | Scrapped in India, 2008. |
MS Aallotar | 1972 | Finland Steamship Company | 1972–1977 | Scrapped in Alang, India, 2004. |
MS Svea Regina MS Regina | 1972 | Rederi AB Svea Effoa | 1972–1978 1979 | Scrapped in Alang, India, 2005. |
MS Bore I MS Skandia | 1973 | Steamship Company Bore Effoa | 1973–1980 1980–1983 | Since 2007 MS Rigel for Ventouris Ferries. |
MS Svea Corona | 1974 | Rederi AB Svea; Johnson Line | 1975–1984 | Scrapped in Aliağa, Turkey, 1995. |
MS Wellamo MS Svea Corona | 1975 | Effoa Johnson Line | 1975–1981 1984–1985 | Sunk in 2017. |
MS Bore Star MS Silja Star MS Wasa Queen | 1975 | Bore Line Effoa Effjohn | 1976–1980 1980–1986 1992–2000 | Scrapped in India, 2013. |
MS Finlandia | 1981 | Effoa | 1981–1990 | Since 2016 MS Moby Dada for Moby Lines. |
MS Silvia Regina | 1981 | Rederi Ab Svea; Johnson Line | 1981–1991 | Since 1994 MS Stena Saga for Stena Line. |
MS Svea MS Silja Karneval | 1985 | Johnson Line EffJohn | 1985–1992 1992–1994 | Since 2008 MS Mega Smeralda for Corsica Ferries. |
GTS Finnjet | 1977 | Effoa; EffJohn | 1987–2006 | Scrapped in Alang, India, 2009. |
MS Silja Star | 1980 | Effoa | 1990 | Sunk 1994 as MS Estonia. |
MS Frans Suell MS Silja Scandinavia | 1992 | Euroway EffJohn | 1992–1994 1994–1997 | Since 1997 MS Gabriella for Viking Line. |
MS Stena Invicta (marketed as Wasa Jubilee) | 1985 | Silja Line | 1998 (charter) | Since 2000 MS Color Viking for Color Line. |
HSC SuperSeaCat Four | 1999 | SeaContainers | 2000–2006 (summers only) | Since 2009 HSC Speedrunner IV for Aegean Speed Lines. |
HSC SeaCat Denmark | 1990 | SeaContainers | 2000 | Since 2006 HSC Pescara Jet with SNAV. |
HSC SuperSeaCat Three | 1999 | SeaContainers | 2003–2006 (summers only) | Since 2009 HSC Speedrunner III for Aegean Speed Lines. |
HSC SuperSeaCat One | 1997 | SeaContainers | summer 2005 | Since 2006 HSC Almudaina Dos for Acciona Trasmediterránea. |
MS Sally Albatross MS Silja Opera | 1992 | EffJohn Silja Line | 1992–1994 2002–2006 | Since 2007 MS Celestyal Crystal for Celestyal Cruises. |
MS Wellamo MS Silja Festival | 1986 | Effoa; EffJohn Silja Line | 1986–1992 1992–2008 | Since 2015 MS Mega Andrea for Corsica Ferries. |
MS Silja Europa | 1993 | Effoa; EffJohn Silja Line | 1993–2013 | Since 2013 sailing for Tallink. |
MS Galaxy | 2006 | Effoa; EffJohn Silja Line | 2008–2022 | Since 2023 sailing for Tallink. |
Silja Line has five terminals, of which four are in Finland (two in mainland Finland and two in Åland) and one in Sweden.
Finland
Sweden
Harri Hylje is Silja Line's seal mascot and the company's signature animal appearing in its logo. A living Harri Hylje figure appears on Silja Line ships especially on weekends and on school holiday periods. [28]
The seal logo originated in 1967, allegedly half-accidentally from word play. During a brainstorming meeting among the marketing department, someone said in Swedish: "Who could bring some comfort for a thirsty soul?" The Swedish word for "soul" is själ, and in the archipelago it is pronounced similarly to the word for "seal", which is säl. The company name Silja Line had not yet been invented at the time, instead the cooperating shipping companies Bore, Effoa and Svea used the marketing name Ruotsinlaivat ("The ships to Sweden") in Finland and De Samseglande Finlandsbåtarna ("The ships to Finland sailing together") in Sweden. [29]
At first the seal figure in the company's advertisements had multiple appearances: it swam along the ships, jumped in the water, sometimes even wore sunglasses and looked different depending on the artist in Finnish and Swedish marketing. At the start of the 1970s, when the marketing name Silja Line was taken into use, the Finnish advertising graphic artist Viktor Kaltala and the Swedish Janne Sjöström spent a day and a half together to come up with a common seal character for the Silja Line Logo. The Silja Line seal logo has since been altered at least in 1972, 2012 [30] and 2014. [29]
In spring 2009 Tallink Silja donated one euro for each Harri Hylje mascot sold on board Silja Line ships to the WWF Finland Baltic Sea campaign Operaatio Merenneito ("Operation Mermaid"). The total amount of donations rose up to 11 thousand euro. [31]
In autumn 2014 Tallink Silja, the advertising company Hasan & Partners and the outdoor advertising company JCDecaux produced an interactive advertising campaign based on the Harri Hylje figure at the tram stop outside the Helsinki Central railway station. Citizens could play or take selfies with a remotely controlled Harri Hylje figure shown on a video screen. The device printed gift cards for ferry cruises as a reward. [32]
In 2018 the play equipment manufacturer Lappset produced Harri Hylje themed play ships for the Silja Serenade and the Silja Symphony . [33]
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 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.
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.
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.
SeaWind Line was a subsidiary of the Finnish passenger shipping company Silja Line, later owned by the Estonian company Tallink. In 2010, the Sea Wind brand ceased to exist and the remaining ship, MS Sea Wind, was transferred to Tallink colours. MS Sea Wind is dedicated to cargo shipping only, operating also as a train ferry on the route Turku-Stockholm. The ship is one of the most important carriers of railway carriages between Finland and Sweden. However, according to Tallink CEO Enn Pant, the company currently has little interest in continuing the train-ferry traffic, as transporting trains generates less income than transporting other cargo.
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 Moby Dada is a cruiseferry operated by Moby Lines, under charter from DFDS Seaways. She was built in 1981 as Finlandia for Effoa at Wärtsilä's Perno shipyard in Turku, Finland, and placed in service on Silja Line's Helsinki—Stockholm service. In 1990 she was sold to DFDS Seaways and renamed Queen of Scandinavia. From 2010 until 2016, she operated under the name of Princess Maria for St. Peter Line between Helsinki and St. Petersburg, Russia.
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 Svea Corona was a car-passenger ferry built in 1975 by Dubegion-Normandie S.A., Nantes, France for Rederi AB Svea, Sweden for Silja Line traffic. She was later rebuilt as a cruiseship and known under names MS Sundancer and MS Pegasus. She was scrapped in 1995 in Aliağa, Turkey.
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.
The MS Fennia was a car-passenger ferry built in 1966 for Siljavarustamo / Siljarederiet. During her long career Fennia also sailed for Jakob Lines and Vaasanlaivat / Vasabåtarna, and spent short times chartered to Sessan Linjen, SAGA Linjen, B&I Line, Baltic Line and SeaWind Line. In 2001 the ship was sold to RG Line and renamed Casino Express.
MS Aallotar was a car-passenger ferry built in 1972 by Dubegion-Normandie S.A., Nantes, France for the Finland Steamship Company, who used her in traffic of the Silja Line marketing company. She was the first car/passenger ferry to operate between Helsinki and Stockholm, and the first ship to offer year-round service. She was later known under the names MS Rogalin, MS Edda and MS Celtic Pride. She was scrapped in 2004 in Aliağa, Turkey.
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.
Stockholms Rederi AB Svea was a Swedish shipping company founded in the 1870s. It operated a wide variety of ships carrying freight and passengers around the world, mostly concentrating on traffic in the Baltic and North Sea and was one of the largest Swedish shipping companies in its time. Rederi AB Svea was one of the founding members of Silja Line, and operated its ships under the names Skandinavisk Linjetrafik, Scandinavian Ferry Lines, Linjebuss and Trave Line. It also had a Finnish daughter company and another daughter company based in the Netherlands. In 1981 Svea was merged into Johnson Line and ceased to operate as an independent company.
MS Baltic Star is a cruise ship owned by Rederi Hotell Fartyget BJ AB that was operated on services between Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Turku and most recently Mariehamn on Åland (Finland). She was built in 1953 as a passenger liner at Finnboda shipyard in Nacka, Sweden as SS Birger Jarl for Rederi AB Svea. In 1973 she was sold to Jakob Lines, was renamed SS Bore Nord and converted into a ferry. In 1978 she was bought back by the Ånedin Line and was renamed SS Baltic Star. In 1982 the ship's original steam engines were replaced by diesel engines; the ship's prefix hence altered to MS. In 1989 the engines were again replaced by new diesels. In 2002 the ship reverted to the name Birger Jarl, and in 2020 back to the Baltic Star name.
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.
The MSIlmatar was a cruise ship operated by Palm Beach Cruises as Palm Beach Princess on casino cruises out of the Port of Palm Beach in Riviera Beach, Florida. She was built in 1964 by Wärtsilä Hietalahti shipyard, Helsinki, Finland for Finland Steamship Company as Ilmatar. From 1970 until 1974 and again from 1978 to 1980 she was marketed as a part of Silja Line fleet. In 1973 she was lengthened at HDW Hamburg, Germany by 20.04 m. Between 1975–1976 she was chartered to Finnlines. In 1979 she was converted to a cruise ship.
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.
MS Svea Regina was a car and passenger ferry, built in 1972 by the Dubigeon Normandie shipyard in Nantes, France for Rederi AB Svea for use in Silja Line traffic. She subsequently sailed under the names Regina, Mediterranean Sun, Odysseas Eleytis, Scandinavia Sky, Tallink, El Tor, Monte Carlo and El Safa, until scrapped in Alang, India in 2005. As Svea Regina she was, together with her sister MS Aallotar, the first ship to start year-round daily traffic between Helsinki and Stockholm, the capitals of Finland and Sweden, respectively.
MS Baltic Queen is a cruiseferry owned by the Estonia-based ferry operator Tallink. The ship was built by the STX Europe shipyard in Rauma, Finland.