Finnlines Plc News

MAN Energy Solutions has won the order to supply six MAN B&W 9S50ME-C9.6 Tier II-compliant main engines for three 238-meter roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessels intended for operation in the Baltic Sea. The customer is Finnlines PLC., the Finnish shipping company and part of the Grimaldi Group. MAN Energy Solutions’ two-stroke licensee – Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (Engine & Machinery Business Unit) – will build the engines in Korea, while Nanjing Jinling shipyard in China will construct the vessels.

Finnlines said it is continuing capacity expansion efforts in response to growing volumes. The Baltic Sea ro-ro and passenger vessels operator has purchased MS Europalink as reports further progress in its vessel lengthening program. Finnlines Plc’s fully owned Swedish subsidiary, Rederi Aktiebolaget Nordö-Link, has purchased a Star class passenger-freight vessel, MS Europalink, from the Grimaldi Group in accordance with an earlier signed purchase agreement. MS Europalink will be fitted with exhaust gas scrubbers in mid-March and will sail under Swedish flag…

Finnlines Plc said it has sold a 1999-built ro-pax vessel MS Finneagle to the Grimaldi Group.   The 18-year-old MS Finneagle was chartered out to the Grimaldi Group from June 2017, and it will be delivered to the Grimaldi Group in October 2017.   The freight capacity of the vessel is 2,459 lane meters, and passenger capacity is 835 passengers.   Finnlines said the sale is part of its “strategy to optimize the use of [its] vessels and routes in order to improve its profitability.”   “The sale does not affect the provision of our cargo and passenger service level offered to the customers,” Finnlines said.

Finnlines, a Ro-Ro and passenger vessel operator with services in the North and Baltic Seas, has contracted Wärtsilä to supply three vessels with exhaust cleaning scrubber systems. The deal marks a repeat order for Wärtsilä, following a similar contract from Finnlines in 2014 to have six of its ships fitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems. Part of the Grimaldi Group, Finnlines' passenger-freight vessels offer services from Germany to Finland and Sweden, as well as from Sweden via the Åland Islands to Finland. Tapani Voionmaa, Group General Counsel, Finnlines Plc., called the latest order an important step toward having Finnlines’ entire Baltic fleet equipped with scrubbers.

Rolls-Royce has been contracted to install its innovative Promas Lite propulsion system on four Finnlines ships, all to be delivered later this year. Promas Lite is an integrated propeller and rudder system that increases efficiency and is designed specifically for retrofitting to existing ships. Finnlines is part of the Grimaldi Group, which has over three years of experience with Rolls-Royce on a series of projects to re-blade propellers to improve efficiency. The efficiency gains and fuel saving benefits created by these projects has led to this latest contract to equip four Finnlines vessels. In many previous Promas Lite upgrades, the primary goal has been to achieve fuel savings for the customer.

Rolls-Royce has been contracted to install its Promas Lite propulsion system on four Finnlines ships, all to be delivered later this year. Promas Lite is an integrated propeller and rudder system designed to increase efficiency, specifically for retrofitting to existing ships. Finnlines is part of the Grimaldi Group, which has over three years of experience with Rolls-Royce on a series of projects to re-blade propellers to improve efficiency. The efficiency gains and fuel saving benefits created by these projects has led to this latest contract to equip four Finnlines vessels.

With new, more stringent sulphur oxide (SOx) emission regulations due to take effect January 2015, Finnlines has ordered Wärtsilä Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems for six of its Baltic and North Sea fleet of vessels, Wärtsilä said. By selecting the scrubber systems, Wärtsilä said the vessels will be able to operate in compliance with the new environmental regulations while continuing to operate on heavy fuel oil. The systems will also operate in compliance with the water discharge criteria set by regulators.

Finnlines Plc has bought Transfennica Ltd. from its present shareholders UPM-Kymmene Corporation (49.9 % holding), Metsä-Serla Corporation (32.7 %), Myllykoski Paper Oy (9 %) and Oy Metsä-Botnia Ab (8.4 %). At the same time Finnlines together with its subsidiaries made long-term co-operation agreements on the transportation of Transfennica’s owners products from Finland to the rest of Europe. The value of the transportation agreements together with the free of debt value of the shares of Transfennica has been agreed to be some $68 million. Transfennica is a shipping company specialized in forest industry products. The company operates a fleet of over 20 modern RoRo vessels. Last year’s (1999) turnover was $187 million.

On 28 June, 2000, an agreement was signed between the shareholders of Transfennica Ltd. and Finnlines Plc to sell Transfennica's shares to Finnlines. The sale required the approval of the relevant competition authorities. However, the conditions presented by the competition authorities, were such that Finnlines could not accept them. The partners have therefore decided to cancel the sale of the shares. Transfennica's shareholders are UPM-Kymmene Corporation ( 49.9% holding), Metsä-Serla Corporation (32.7%), Myllykoski Paper Oy (9%) and Oy Metsä-Botnia Ab (8.4%).

Finnlines' subsidiaries, Finncarriers Oy Ab, a company specialized at sea transportation and FG-Shipping Oy Ab, a company specialized at ship management and technology, were recently merged to the mother company Finnlines Plc. In addition, port operation companies of Finnlines, Finnsteve Oy Ab, which is operating the ports of Helsinki and Oy A.E.Erickson Ab, which is operating the port of Turku, were also merged into one company called Finnsteve Oy Ab. Finnlines' German subsidiary Poseidon Schiffahrt AG has changed the company name to Finnlines Deutschland AG. The new company structure is in force since 1 January 2001. Shipping and Sea Transport Division includes Finnlines Cargo Services and Finnlink Services. Asser Ahleskog is in charge of Finnlines Cargo Services.