SF Line
Encyclopedia
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
shipping company presently known as Viking Line
Viking Line
Viking Line is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange...
. The company, originally named Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan, was one of three shipping companies that formed shipping marketing company Viking Line in 1966, the other two being Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen and Rederi AB Slite
Rederi AB Slite
Rederi AB Slite was a Swedish shipping company, founded in 1947. The company was one of the three founding companies of Viking Line. Rederi AB Slite went bankrupt in 1993.-Early History:...
. After the other companies left Viking Line in 1988 and 1993 respectively, SF Line stood as the sole owner of Viking Line. As a result, SF Line changed its name to Viking Line in 1995.
History
Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen (later Rederi Ab Solstad and merged into Rederi Ab SallyRederi Ab Sally
Rederi Ab Sally was a Finnish shipping company founded in the 1937 by Algot Johansson. Originally a tanker operator, Sally became a dominant member of the Viking Line shipping consortium in the 1970s. The company met bad times in the 1980s and was bought by its rivals Effoa and Johnson Line in 1987...
in 1970) was founded in 1959 and started ferry operations between Gräddö (Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) and Korpo (Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
). After a disagreement between the founders, a group of men led by Gunnar Eklund left Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen and started a new company, Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan. The new company purchased the steamer Brittany, renamed her Ålandsfärjan and started operations between Kapellskär
Kapellskär
Kapellskär is a port about north of Stockholm, in Sweden. It is located by the Baltic Sea, in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County and is served by frequent passenger ferry services to Mariehamn, Åland, Finland, operated by Viking Line, with 3 services per day and direction during peak season...
(Sweden) and Mariehamn
Mariehamn
Mariehamn is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city...
(Åland) in direct competition with Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen.
In 1966, Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan, Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen and Rederi AB Slite joined forces and founded the marketing company Viking Line in order to compete with Silja Line
Silja Line
Silja Line is a Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy – today Tallink Silja Oy – is a subsidiary of Tallink Grupp, handling marketing and sales for Tallink and Silja...
. During the following years, the three companies ordered many newbuildings and Viking Line became a dominant operator in baltic ferry operations.
In 1970, Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan changed its name to SF Line, 'S' referring to Sverige (Sweden) and 'F' to Finland. Their first newbuilding was the MS Kapella, delivered in 1967. As a tribute to Gunnar Eklund's wife Ellen, the names of all subsequent new ships of SF Line ends with '-ella'.
When Rederi Ab Sally in 1987 was acquired by Silja Line's owning company EffJohn, SF Line and Rederi AB Slite forced Sally to leave Viking Line. After the bankruptcy of Rederi AB Slite in 1993, SF Line was the only remaining company in Viking Line. SF Line then changed its name to Viking Line.
Ships
- 1963 SS Ålandsfärjan (sold for scrap in 1972)
- 1967 MS Kapella (sold in 1979, scrapped in 2006)
- 1970 MS Marella (sold in 1980, scrapped in 2004)
- 1973 MS Aurella (sold in 1982, currently MS C.T.M.A Vacancier for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérienCoopérative de transport maritime et aérienThe Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien is a Canadian transportation company operating in Quebec and Prince Edward Island.Labelling itself Groupe CTMA, the company operates the seasonal ferry service from Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec in the Magdalen Islands to Souris, Prince Edward Island using...
) - 1979 MS Turella (sold in 1988, currently MS Kongshavn for KystlinkKystlinkNye Kystlink AS, trading as kystlink, was a Norwegian ferry shipping company that operates between Langesund in Norway and Strömstad, Sweden and Hirtshals, Denmark. The company was wholly owned by Taubåtkompaniet, owned by Ole T. Bjørnevik, and operated one cruiseferry, MS Kongshavn...
) - 1980 MS Rosella
- 1985 MS Mariella
- 1987 MS Ålandsfärjan (sold in 2008 to G.A.P Adventures, renamed Expedition)
- 1988 MS Amorella
- 1989 MS Isabella
- 1989 MS Cinderella (renamed MS Viking Cinderella in 2003)
- 1997 MS Gabriella
- 2008 MS Viking XPRSMS Viking XPRSMS Viking XPRS is a fast cruiseferry owned by the Finland-based Viking Line and operated on their service between Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia. Her keel was laid on 16 April 2007 and launching took place on 19 September 2007. Viking XPRS entered service on 28 April 2008.-Concept:Viking...