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Silja News

29 Aug 2023

Silja Symphony Adopts nauticAi Log Electronic Logbooks

Image courtesy nauticAi Log

Northern Baltic Sea ferry operator Tallink Grupp, which operates vessels under the Silja Line and Tallink brands, has selected the Finnish-developed nauticAi Log type approved electronic record book for its fleet of ships, with the Swedish-flagged cruise ferry Silja Symphony as the first one to go paperless. “We switched to paperless engine logbooks here on Silja Symphony from 1 June and feel that this is a good step towards even more modern and digitalised operations as well as our overall sustainability goal of going paperless.

02 Feb 2023

Silja Europe Propulsion Control Makeover Aims to Save 6% on Fuel

Silja Europe. Image courtesy Tallink

Qtagg recently secured an order on a total upgrade of Silja Europa’s propulsion control system, a makeover designed to decrease the ship’s fuel consumption by 6% and CO2 emissions by 2096 tons yearly, according to the manufacturer. The overhaul includes engine speed governors, fuel rack actuators, pitch control and voyage optimization with EcoPilot.At 59,912 gt, Silja Europa is Tallink’s largest cruise vessel. Until the summer of 2022 it operated on the Baltic Sea, between Helsinki (Finland) – Tallinn (Estonia).

13 Oct 2021

Tallink Charters Out Additional Vessel to COP26

(Photo: AS Tallink Grupp)

Tallink Grupp announced it recently signed a charter agreement for its Latvian-flagged cruise vessel Romantika, which has also been hired to provide accommodation at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), taking place in Glasgow, Scotland on October 31– November 12.Several weeks ago, the company said it signed a charter agreement for its Tallinn-Helsinki route cruise vessel Silja Europa to provide accommodation services at the global climate conference in Glasgow from October 21 to November 14.

15 Dec 2020

The Estonia Disaster: A Bottomless Source of Learning

© Karl Allen Lugmayer / Adobe Stock

The sinking of the Estonia ro-ro passenger ferry stands out as one of the most disastrous accidents in modern times. The tragedy claimed 852 lives and the wreck was declared a marine graveyard. At first glance, the sinking seems to have been triggered by a single technical failure only minutes before the point of no return, with no warning signs. The first objective of this review was to verify whether the pattern of typical major accidents can be found in the Estonia disaster. The usual pattern involves multiple human errors combined with an immature organizational culture.

25 Feb 2020

Høglund to Supply FGSS for Tallink

Norwegean global marine automation and system integration expert Høglund Marine Solutions (HMS) will supply Fuel Gas Supply Systems (FGSS) to Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) for Tallink Grupp’s newest LNG powered ferry, MySTAR.Høglund will work with Finnish tank manufacturer West Welding to design and supply the systems that will handle LNG onboard MySTAR, constructed by Rauma Marine Constructions. MySTAR will sail on Tallink's Tallinn - Helsinki route.The design and engineering of FGSS solutions is a key challenge for the future development of LNG powered shipping, particularly for passenger vessels. The process must take into account complex safety concerns stemming from impacts on the engine cooling system…

26 Jan 2020

Tallink to Repair Silja Europa at Turku Yard

Estonian shipping company Tallink Grupp said that its vessel Silja Europa has set sail to Turku Repair Yard in Naantali, Finland for scheduled maintenance and planned renewal works that would make the ship more environmentally friendly.The 1993-built vessel will stay in Turku Repair Yard for two weeks, returning to the Tallinn-Helsinki route on February 9, said a press note from the provider of mini-cruise and passenger transport services in the northern Baltic Sea region.During the scheduled docking, the vessel will undergo considerable renovation of several key passenger areas. Also, technical upgrades will be carried out on the vessel.For example…

08 Oct 2019

Ports of Stockholm Finalist for Climate Action Award

Ports of Stockholm has been nominated as a finalist for the 2019 C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Award. The prize is awarded in seven categories to provide global recognition for cities demonstrating climate action leadership.Ports of Stockholm has reached the final for the power installations at the Värtahamnen port as one of three nominees in the Air quality category.“It is really great that we have reached the final, as our power installations have been a focus area this year. Several of the ferries at the Värtahamnen port have connected to shore power this year, which has contributed to a substantial reduction in emissions,” says Thomas Andersson…

01 Feb 2017

Kapellskär Port adds two quay-berths

An important milestone has been reached at the Port of Kapellskär, now that all five quay-berths are in operation at this state-of-the-art port. The Port of Kapellskär has been expanded and now has two piers and a total of five modern quay-berths. The new 245 metre-long pier has been in operation since summer 2016. The original pier has been extensively renovated and is now ready for traffic. “An important milestone has been reached now that we have all of our five modern quay-berths in operation,” says Peter Lundman, Technical Operations Manager at the Port of Kapellskär. The dredging work has been completed, the concrete has been repaired and the pier has been equipped with erosion protection, fenders, bollards, safety barriers and new lighting.

18 Oct 2016

New Port in Stockholm Inaugurated

Ports of Stockholm has expanded Stockholm by 85000 square metres, and built a new pier and passenger terminal. Värtahamnen has been under reconstruction since 2013. The rebuilding is part of the development of a completely new city district in Stockholm, the Stockholm Royal Seaport. Ports of Stockholm has built a new pier and passenger terminal, which the ferry operations at Värtahamnen have now moved to. The concentration of port operations to the pier has freed-up 85 000 square meters of land for urban development, making space for 12 000 new homes and 35 000 workplaces. At the same time a new landmark has been created in Stockholm. The Värta Terminal, which has been designed by architect firm C.F.

13 Mar 2014

Floating hotel draws workers to NW Canada boom town

Hundreds of construction workers in booming northern British Columbia will take up residence this week in unique digs on board a cruise ferry revamped into a floating luxury hotel. The aging ship will help relieve a housing shortage in one busy Canadian port town already bursting ahead of a promised energy boom that could last more than a decade. The Silja Festival - a Baltic ferry made over as the Delta Spirit Lodge - will spend at least a year docked outside Kitimat, British Columbia, where it will provide housing for about 600 workers in town for Rio Tinto Alcan's $3.3 billion smelter-upgrade project, which is expected to wrap up in 2015.

22 Mar 2013

Tallink-Silja Installs MPM Upgrade for STA

Photo: Marine Softwear

Project "Systemtillsyn" is a way for the Swedish transport agency to devolve a large portion of their survey responsibility to the crews on Swedish flagged vessels. The Swedish Transport Agency has a survey guide book (THB) which contains all 480 survey items applicable to most types of Swedish flagged vessels giving surveyors guidance for each survey. As most survey items are already covered by their MPM - Marine Planned Maintenance PMS system, Tallink asked Marine Software to integrate this additional STA survey requirement with the existing planned maintenance database.

20 Mar 2013

MPM Software Upgrade Installed in Two Swedish Vessels

Silja Line Ship: Photo credit Marine Software Ltd.

U.K. based Marine Software Ltd has delivered a Marine Planned Maintenance (MPM) upgrade to 2 Tallink-Silja vessels. The upgrade has been supplied to Tallink-Silja, for installation on-board their Swedish flagged vessels "Silja Symphony" and "Galaxy". Project "Systemtillsyn" is a way for the Swedish transport agency to devolve a large portion of their survey responsibility to the crews on Swedish flagged vessels. The Swedish Transport Agency has a survey guide book (THB) which…

27 Oct 2003

Aker Finnyards to Convert Finnjet

Aker Finnyards and Silja Oyj Abp signed on October 23 a LOI on the docking and conversion of GTS Finnjet. The work will commence in May 2004 and means 100 man years of work for the yard. There will be considerable technical modernisation and improvement onboard, according to Central European trends. The plan for renewing the passenger spaces has been made by Partner Ship Design architects, specialised on cruise vessels. Aker Finnyards has in the recent years made conversions of Silja´s other vessels, too: Wasa Queen, Silja Europa, Silja Festival. The conversion work is estimated to six weeks. GTS Finnjet will start sailing on route Rostock-Tallinn-StPetersburg in June 2004.

18 Dec 2003

News: Aker Finnyards Will Convert Finnjet

Aker Finnyards and Silja Oyj Abp signed a letter of intent on the docking and conversion of GTS Finnjet. The work will commence in May 2004. There will be considerable technical modernization and improvement onboard. The plan for renewing the passenger spaces has been made by Partner Ship Design architects, specialized on cruise vessels. Aker Finnyards has in the recent years made conversions of Silja´s other vessels, too: Wasa Queen, Silja Europa, Silja Festival. The conversion work is estimated to six weeks. GTS Finnjet will start sailing on route Rostock-Tallinn-StPetersburg in June 2004.

22 Mar 2002

Sea Containers Announces 2001 and 4Q Results

Sea Containers Ltd. announced its results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2001. Net losses for the quarter were $9.1 million on revenue of $296 million, compared with net losses in the fourth quarter of 2000 of $15.8 million on revenue of $306 million. This improvement of $6.7 million was accomplished despite leisure earnings net of minority interest being $5.6 million less primarily due to the effects of the September 11th terrorist attack. Strong fourth quarter performance from the company's ferry operations, particularly the Silja and Isle of Man Steam Packet subsidiaries, as well as a $3 million improvement in container leasing earnings after interest expense, contributed to the better results.

07 May 2002

Sea Containers to Increase Its Shareholding in Silja

Sea Containers Ltd., passenger transport operator, marine container lessor and leisure industry investor, announced today that various Finnish and Swedish leading companies had exercised their option to require Sea Containers to purchase 26 percent of the shares of Silja Oyj Abp at $36 million. This will bring Sea Containers' shareholding to 76 percent of Silja. Completion of the purchase is required by June 20, 2002. Sea Containers intends to acquire the balance of Silja's shares by tender offer to the remaining shareholders for cash or common shares in Sea Containers. Lazard AB, Stockholm has been engaged to advise the company on these transactions.

16 Mar 2001

Unitor E-Commerce Procurement Goes To Sea

Unitor's 4,500 international shipping customers now have a ready made solution for e-commerce procurement available. The solution makes it possible to electronically purchase Unitor products and services from vessels at sea or from the owner's office. Unitor and SpecTec's free and independent marine procurement portal, e4marine, has now opened the industry's first vessel-based e-commerce procurement solution following trials with the Baltic ferry operator Silja Line. After evaluating the e4marine solution, Silja Line went "live" by ordering marine chemicals and refrigerant gases for its flagship, the 59,912 grt passenger RoRo Silja Europa, running between Stockholm (Sweden) and Turku (Finland) from the vessel, via e4marine, to Unitor.

03 Jul 2002

Sea Containers Acquires Part of Silja

Sea Containers Ltd. passenger transport operator, marine container lessor and leisure industry investor, today announced that it has increased its shareholding in Silja Oyj Abp from 50 percent to 75.32 percent effective June 20, 2002 through the issue of 2,474,196 Sea Containers Class A common shares in payment for the Silja shares acquired. The increase in share capital is expected to be anti-dilutive. On June 25, 2002 a Sea Containers subsidiary, Silja Holdings Ltd., announced that it had launched a tender offer for the remaining shares in Silja Oyj Abp as well as for Silja’s outstanding Convertible Bonds which have a par value of Euro 55.5 million. The offer is Euro 2.25 for each common share and 92.4% of the par value of the bonds.

07 Aug 2002

Sea Containers Acquires 92 Percent of Silja

Sea Containers Ltd. passenger transport operator, marine container lessor and leisure industry investor, announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Silja Holdings Ltd., had received acceptances of its tender offer to acquire all the outstanding common stock of Silja Oyj Abp, bringing its total shareholding in Silja to 92 percent. The significance of the 90 percent threshold is that Silja Holdings may now compulsorily acquire all the remaining shares in Silja in accordance with Finnish law. Sea Containers shareholding in Silja was increased to 75% in the second quarter of 2002 which will result in consolidation of Silja's assets and liabilities with those of Sea Containers at June 30th.

10 Apr 2007

Aker Yards Delivered Fast Ferry for Tallink

Tallink s newest passenger ferry Star was delivered from Aker Yards Helsinki yard. She will start regular traffic between Helsinki and Tallinn and will be capable to cross the sea between the two cities just in two hours. The ice class of the ferry will allows year-around operation. Besides 1,900 passengers, the 185 m long and 27.7 m wide vessel is designed to carry private cars and freight units by having more than two kilometres of vehicle deck space. The vessel worth around 110 million euro gave for the yard and partners ca. 800 manyears of work. Aker Yards is the leading ferry builder in the world. The "Star" is the 19th ferry delivered by Aker Yards for the combined Tallink Silja during the long successful partnership between the companies.

19 Jul 2006

Sea Containers Completes Sale of Ferry Business

Sea Containers Ltd. announced that it has completed the sale of its Baltic ferry subsidiary Silja Oy Ab to Estonian ferry operator AS Tallink Grupp. The sale, which was announced on June 12, was subject to receipt of regulatory approvals from Finnish, Swedish and Estonian competition authorities, all of which have been granted. The consideration for the sale of Silja's core business is $563m and 5m ordinary shares in Tallink equivalent to $22m. Corporate approval was given by Tallink shareholders at an EGM on June 22. The transaction does not include Silja's fast ferry services from Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia and the two SuperSeaCat ferries, which will be retained by Sea Containers and operated as a stand-alone business under the SuperSeaCat brand name

17 May 2006

NorFerries Eyes Silja Line

Norwegian shipping investment company NorFerries said it wanted to buy Finnish ferry company Silja Line from US-stocklisted Sea Containers. Silja Line runs ferries in the Baltic, mostly from Helsinki to Sweden and Estonia. The ferry line carried around five million passengers last year. NorFerries, known mostly for setting up routes for cargo ships and passenger ferries, is offering $671m for Silja Line. Bermuda-based Sea Containers said last year that it wanted to sell off Silja Line and its other ferry operations to stem losses. NorFerries' bid is expected to be challenged by Silja Line's rivals in the Baltic, Tallink and Viking Line. Both have said they're interested in buying Silja as well. (Source: Aftenposten)

08 May 2006

Sea Containers to Sell Ferries

Sea Containers is planning a comprehensive financial restructuring that would see a debt-for-equity swap follow the sale of its ferry operations later this year. The company is working on a business plan to sell off all group assets except its container leasing interests and the GNER east coast mainline rail business to cut its $1.3b debt burden to between $500m and $600m. Key to the plan is the sale of its Silja ferry operations in the Baltic, along with 10 other vessels. Société Générale is handling negotiations and is hopeful of a deal within weeks valuing Silja at some $630m. Sea Containers has a highly leveraged structure - its market capitalization stood at $190m at the end of last week. Last year the company invited offers from potential buyers.