Rauma Shipyard News

For Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC), the year has had a strong start. Today, a significant milestone was reached in the Squadron 2020 project with the start of production of the fourth multi-purpose corvette and the keel-laying of the third one. This also means that all four multi-purpose corvettes of Pohjanmaa class -- ships that measure 117 x 16.5m with a 5m draft and a crew of 70 -- are now simultaneously under construction at the RMC shipyard. Moreover, preparations are in…

Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC), together with its subsidiary RMC Defence Oy, is building four Pohjanmaa-class multi-role corvettes for the Finnish Navy as part of the Squadron 2020 project. The high-performance multi-purpose corvettes are designed for the varying conditions of the Baltic Sea, including ice operations. The corvettes are built in a closed special facility constructed specifically for the project to guarantee the required level of security and quality. The Rauma shipyard also fulfils the security requirements of NATO.

Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions celebrated the launch of the Spirit of Tasmania V, a the second of two new car and passenger ferries for the Tasmanian TT-Line Company.The vessel’s godmother is Her Excellency the Horourable Barbara Baker, Governor of Tasmania.The vessels will operate between Geelong and Devonport on Australia’s Bass Strait, a route known for its challenging sea conditions. The ferries will replace their sister ships built in Finland in the 1990s.

One chapter of Norsepower’s remarkable growth story ends and another begins as Tuomas Riski passes his CEO position onto Heikki Pöntynen, who has been a member of Norsepower’s board. Pöntynen has vast experience in maritime growth companies, and has held several maritime management positions in Finland, China, Hong Kong, and the USA.  Before starting at Norsepower, Mr Pöntynen served as a senior executive with Plannneri, R&M Group, Rauma Marine Constructions – Rauma Shipyard, Elomatic and MacGregor Group. He also holds an M.Sc. degree and EMBA from Kellogg, Northwestern University-WHU.

Rauma Marine Constructions celebrated the launch and christening of Spirit of Tasmania IV, the first of two identical car and passenger ferries the Finnish shipyard is building for Tasmania's TT-Line.Built to replace similarly Finnish-built sister ships, the new vessels are specially designed to operate on a challenging route across the Bass Strait between Geelong, Victoria, and Devonport, Tasmania.The Spirit of Tasmania IV was christened at the RMC shipyard. The vessel’s godmother…

Finnish shipyard Rauma Marine Constructions held a keel laying ceremony of Spirit of Tasmania IV, a car and passenger ferry being built for the Tasmanian TT-Line Company.TT-Line, which operates between mainland Australia and Tasmania, has commissioned two identical Spirit of Tasmania vessels from RMC. The large-scale project is the biggest individual foreign sale between Australia and Finland.”Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the design and production of the Spirit of Tasmania vessels have proceeded according to the agreed schedule.

Wasaline's new car and passenger ferry Aurora Botnia, built at Rauma shipyard, was christened on Wednesday in Vaasa, Finland. The vessel will operate the route between Vaasa and Umeå, Sweden, daily.Aurora Botnia construction started with ceremonies in September 2019. The next major milestone was reached in February 2020 when the ship’s keel was laid. In September 2020, launching was celebrated one year after construction began, and in June 2021 the vessel first reached the sea.

Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) said on Wednesday that it has secured an order from Australian shipping company TT Line Company to build two car and passenger ferries at the Rauma shipyard.The newbuild order comes after TT Line, also known as Spirit of Tasmania, withdrew from a previous memorandum of understanding (MOU) last July while the Tasmanian government-owned company investigated options to produce the vessels locally to help offset economic impacts from the coronavirus pandemic.RMC revealed Wednesday that negotiations resumed in March this year…

Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) said it resumed production on Thursday after it paused operations last week following a COVID-19 outbreak among its workforce.The company halted production last Friday after a cluster of coronavirus infections was discovered at the Rauma shipyard. Authorities tested all shipyard employees and quarantined those who had been exposed to the virus.RMC said the yard was thoroughly cleaned and sanitized during the weeklong shutdown, and that production will recommence in phases, in a controlled manner.

Australian ferry operator TT Line has withdrawn from a memorandum of understanding with Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions for the construction of two new car and passenger ferries as it investigates options to build the vessels domestically.The Tasmanian government-owned operator, also known as Spirit of Tasmania, signed the MOU with RMC after canceling an initial contract with German shipyard Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in February. Under the MOU, RMC was scheduled to begin building the two new 1…

Finnish shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) and Australian TT-Line Company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on two fast car and passenger ferries.The Project will have an impact on employment totalling around 3,500 person-years, and the construction work will start at the beginning of 2021, said a press release from the company specialized in constructing car ferries, icebreakers and naval vessels.”We are proud and grateful of the trust TT-Line Company has shown us. We believe that with this new partnership, we can serve our customer in a way that results in a world-class car and passenger ferry solution for TT-Line Company’s business.

Estonian shipping company Tallink Grupp announced that the name of the new Tallinn-Helsinki route shuttle vessel MySTAR.The new dual-fuel vessel  will be built at Rauma shipyard in Finland and is due to be completed by the end of 2021.The name for the vessel was proposed as an entry in the vessel naming competition by a Finnish national.The shipping company ran a naming competition for the new vessel this summer and the final decision regarding the name was made by the company’s Management Board in September.Tallink Grupp’s CEO Paavo Nõgene was delighted with the level of interest in the naming of the company’s new vessel. "We never…

Estonian shipping company Tallink Grupp has  launched an international name search for its new shuttle vessel, the construction of which is due to kick off at the Rauma shipyard in Finland early next year (2020).According to the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea region, the shuttle vessel, which will be similar to the group’s newest vessel Megastar, operating on the Tallinn-Helsinki route since January 2017, will be completed by the end of 2021 and delivered to Tallink Grupp in January 2022.The new vessel will then start operating on the Tallinn-Helsinki route, providing conveniently frequent departures between…

Estonian shipping company Tallink Tallink Grupp has borrowed  EUR 197.6 million to finance the new EUR 247 million LNG powered fast ferry currently under construction in Rauma Marine Constructions Oy.The loan agreement was concluded between AS Tallink Grupp subsidiary Tallink Superfast Ltd. and KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, the shipper said.The loan is arranged and long term financing is provided by KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH. Finnish Export Credit Agency “Finnvera” guarantees 95 per cent of this post-delivery buyer credit.The loan is secured by the mortgage on the new vessel and the corporate guarantee of AS Tallink Grupp.This OECD-term export credit loan will be drawn on the delivery of the vessel…

Tallink Grupp, the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea region, and Finnish shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) signed the contract for the construction of a new LNG-powered fast ferry for the Tallinn – Helsinki route shuttle operations.Similarl to the group’s newest vessel Megastar, the new shuttle ferry will also be dual fuel operated, its overall length will be approximately 212 meters and with a passenger capacity of 2,800, said a press release from the Estonian shipping company operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and RoPax ships from Estonia to Finland.The vessel will cost approximately 250 million euros and it will be built at the Rauma shipyard in Finland…

Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) has signed a letter of intent with the ferry operator Kvarken Link for the construction of a dual fuel ferry.The vessel order will have a value of approximately EUR120 million (USD137.63 million), said a press release.The vessel commissioned by Kvarken Link, a company owned by the cities of Umeå (Sweden) and Vaasa (Finland), will operate between the two cities.he vessel order will have an impact on employment totalling around 800 person-years. The formal construction agreement is to be signed in early 2019, with the design and construction work set to start immediately thereafter, says Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO of RMC.”RMC won the public international tender thanks to our expert knowledge and technology.

On Friday May 9, 2014, STX Finland Oy’s Rauma Shipyard handed over a next-generation offshore patrol vessel to the Finnish Border Guard. The vessel was christened Turva by her godmother, Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen, in the christening and float-out ceremony held on August 2, 2013. The technically advanced and highly versatile 96 meters long and 17 meters wide offshore patrol vessel will be used for frontier supervision, maritime search and rescue (SAR), environmental protection and monitoring of natural resources…

STX Finland has been actively seeking solutions for saving the Finnish shipyard industry. In September 2013, the company launched a major restructuring aimed at safeguarding the operating potential of the company and, by extension, the entire maritime industry in Finland, thus ending the years of uncertainty. As part of the STX Finland Oy restructuring, cooperation negotiations concerning the Rauma and Turku Shipyards have been conducted between the personnel groups and the company management. The negotiations were completed on October 29, 2013.

As part of the restructuring of STX Finland, current operations at the Rauma Shipyard will be ramped down and functions shifted to the Turku Shipyard. Like other European shipyards, the Finnish shipbuilding industry is suffering the effects of the recession in the global economy; an increase in surplus capacity and the financial crisis have all led to a cut in orders and stiffened competition. Consequently STX Finland say they have been been activelly seeking solutions in order to save the Finnish shipyard industry.

STX Finland, which has seen a deterioration of its shipbuilding base for many years, today announced its latest plan to stem the flow of red ink: a phase out of the Rauma shipyard. Senior management cited the continued bad global economy in the wake of the economic meltdown of 2008 as the primary source of trouble. "The decisions made now are based on a realistic estimate of the company’s current state and the market outlook,” said Jari Anttila, EVP & Deputy CEO of STX Finland.

The offshore patrol vessel UVL10, currently being built for the Finnish Border Guard at STX Finland Oy’s Rauma shipyard, was named Turva at a festive naming and launching ceremony on Friday 2 August. Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen acted as godmother for the ship, wishing the vessel and its crew luck and success in their future maritime operations. In her speech as the ship’s godmother, Minister Räsänen stated that taking delivery of the ship is an important part of the preparation for the risks of increasing maritime transport and prevention of environmental damage…

The STX Turku Shipyard in Finland recently lost the order for a third Oasis class cruise ship and an option for a fourth to ”sister” shipyard STX France, when neither the owner, the financially troubled STX Group, nor the Finnish government wanted to inject a missing $64.3m to the capital of the shipyard. The yard is currently building two 97,000gt cruise ships for TUI Cruises. In January the shipyard delivered the world’s first LNG-fuelled big size passenger-car ferry, the Viking Grace for Baltic ferry operator Viking Line.

The keel of the offshore patrol vessel being built for the Finnish Border Guard was laid at STX Finland Oy’s Rauma Shipyard. The event was witnessed by representatives of STX Finland, Finnish Border Guard, classification society and media. Scheduled for delivery in November 2013, the 96 meter long and 17 meter wide vessel uses some of the latest technologies and environmentally friendly innovations in accordance with the Government decision-in-principle on sustainable public procurement. The vessel is equipped with machinery using liquefied natural gas (LNG) and diesel as fuel.