RoPax13

18 / NEWBUILDING
Photos: Bilder Finnlines; JPE; Niko Alakosk
On 13th September 2023 a new era began
for Finnlines on the line between Naantali
(Finland) - Langesund (Aland) and
Kapelskär (Sweden) when the naming
ceremony of the Finnsirius was celebrated.
She was the first newbuilding of the
Superstar Class of Ro-Pax ferries with
sister vessel, the “Finncanopus” being
named some months later, on 14th February
2024, also in Finland. Both ferries
have operated together since mid-February
2024, providing much more capacity,
especially for passengers and cargo.
The ferry service between Naantali and
Kapelskär is still a young ferry route that
was first operated under the name of
FinnLink. In 1989, two old Ro-Pax ferries
were operated on the route between
Uusikaupunki and Hargshamn. Not only
road vehicles, but also trains were transported
on this route. In 1996 the service
was discontinued and Finnlines concentrated
on the Naantali-Kapellskär route,
which was opened in December 1996. The
volume of traffic grew steadily as it is the
shortest connection between Finland and
Sweden. In 2007, Grimaldi became the
largest shareholder in Finnlines and the
company was then geared towards expansion
and growth. Between Sweden and
Finland, Finnlines now holds the largest
share of freight transport. It was Dr.
Emanuele Grimaldi himself who had the
idea of building two large Ro-Pax ships for
the route, with capacity for over 5,200 lane
metres of cargo and 1,100 passengers –
double that of the old ships.
The planning for the two Superstar ships
began back in 2018 when Dr. Emanuele
Grimaldi announced that he would invest
in modern tonnage for Finnlines. Together
with the three new build Ro-Ro vessels
of Finnlines’ Finneco Class, over 500 million
Euro was invested in new vessels. The
construction of the “Finnsirius” began on
1st June 2021 at the China Merchants
Jinling shipyard in Weihai. The improvements
for Finnlines now continue because
Grimaldi will present in 2024 plans for
new Ro-Pax ferries for the line between
Travemünde and Helsinki.
THE BEST RO-PAX CONCEPT EVER
The Superstar-class vessels are 235 metres
long with a beam of 33 metres and a
draught of 7 metres. The ships are the
largest Ro-Pax vessel in the Finnlines fleet.
The optimal load mix is approximately 200
cars and 300 lorries per voyage. The
modern design first created by Knud E.
Hansen was later developed by Grimaldi
and Finnlines’ technical departments
The new Super Star Ferries have a huge dog
outdoor area at the top sun deck
RoPax 13 / 05.2024