Cruise News - Maritime News

Grimaldi Group has chosen the Chinese shipyard Avic Weihai for the construction a pair of Superstar Class ferries due to be operated by Finnlines.

• Contract price roughly USD 135 million each.
• Delivery is scheduled as from 2023.
• These new ice-class ferries are an evolution of the Fincantieri-built Star-class vessels.
• Capacity 5,000 lane metres and 350 cabins.
• They will have the biggest battery pack ever mounted on a ship.

This is the first time the Grimaldi Group will build ropax ferries in Asia. The other shortlisted yards were Hyundai Mipo, Jinling and Guangzhou Shipyard International in China.

All the European shipyards has been left out since the price were in some cases twice as high.

70 Years of Experience

Finnlines started to provide passenger services in 1962, when MS Hansa Express began sailing between Hanko, Gotland and Travemünde.

The first year clearly demonstrated the need for this kind of new service – direct passenger and car ferry connection to Continental Europe. In those days, passenger traffic was almost completely confined to the summer season. Nowadays Finnlines’ passenger-freight vessels provide services from Finland to Germany and via the Åland Islands to Sweden as well as from Sweden to Germany. more...