Viking Line
Encyclopedia
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
. Viking Line is operated from the Åland Islands
.
(Finland) — Mariehamn
(Åland) — Gräddö (Sweden). In the same year the Gotland
-based Rederi AB Slite
began a service between Simpnäs (Sweden) and Mariehamn.
In 1962, a disagreement caused a group of people to leave Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen and form a new company, Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan, who began a service linking Gräddö and Mariehamn the following year.
Soon the three companies, all competing for passengers between Åland Islands and Sweden, realised that they in the long run all stood to lose from mutual competition. In 1965 Vikinglinjen and Slite began collaborating, and in the end of July 1966 Viking Line was established as a marketing company for all three companies. At this time Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen changed their name to Rederi Ab Solstad, in order to avoid confusion with the marketing company. The red hull livery was adopted from Slite's Ålandspilen service (to which it had been taken from the colour of the chairman's wife's lipstick!). In 1967 Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan changed its name to SF Line
and in 1977 Rederi Ab Solstad was merged into its mother company Rederi Ab Sally
.
During the 1970s Viking expanded greatly and overtook Silja Line
as the largest shipping consortium on the Northern Baltic Sea
. Between 1970 and 1973 Slite and Sally took delivery of five nearly identical ships built at Meyer Werft
Germany
, namely MS Apollo and MS Diana for Slite, and MS Viking 1
, MS Viking 3 and MS Viking 4 for Sally. MS Viking 5, delivered in 1974, was an enlargened version of the same design. These so-called Papenburg
sisters can be considered to be one of the most successful ships designs of all times (the shipyard built three additional sisters of the original design for Transbordadores for ship services in Mexico
: Coromuel, Puerto Vallarta and Azteca). In 1973 Viking Line started service on the Turku
–Mariehamn–Stockholm
route, directly competing with Silja Line for the first time. The next year Sally began Viking Line traffic between Helsinki
and Stockholm. For the next decade this route stayed in their hands, whereas on other routes the three companies operated together.
By the latter half of the 1970s Sally was clearly the dominant partner in the consortium. In 1980 they took delivery of three new ferries (MS Viking Saga, MS Viking Sally and MS Viking Song), largest to have sailed under Viking's colours. This further established their dominance over the other partners, although SF Line did take delivery of the new MS Turella and MS Rosella in 1979-1980 and Slite MS Diana II in 1979. In the early 1980s Sally started expanding their operations to other waters, which became the company's failing as those operations were largely unprofitable and ultimately made Sally unable to invest on new tonnage for Viking Line service.
and Johnson Line
, the owners of Silja Line
, purchased Sally. As a result SF Line and Slite forced Sally to leave the Viking Line consortium.
Between 1988 and 1990 SF Line took delivery of three new ships (MS Amorella, MS Isabella and MS Cinderella) while Slite took delivery of two (MS Athena and MS Kalypso). Unfortunately Wärtsilä Marine, the shipyard building one of SF Line's newbuilds and both of Slite's, went bankrupt in 1989. SF Line avoided financial repercussions, their Cinderella had been continuously paid for as her construction progressed. Hence it was SF Line who owned the almost completed ship when the shipyard went bankrupt. Slite however had signed a more traditional type of contract, the Kalypso was to be paid for on delivery. Since the shipyard owned the unfinished ship, this led to an increased cost for the Kalypso - about 200 million SEK more than had been originally envisaged. In the end, despite the financial problems, by 1990 Viking Line had the largest and newest cruiseferry fleet in the world.
In 1989 Slite started planning MS Europa, which was to be the jewel in the company's crown, the largest and most luxurious cruiseferry in the world. Unfortunately for them Sweden entered a financial crisis during the construction of the ship, which led to devaluation of the Swedish krona
. This in turn meant that the cost for the Europa increased by 400 million SEK. When time came to take delivery of the new ship, Slite did not have the funds to pay for it and their main funders (Swedish Nordbanken, who were also the main funders of Silja Line) refused to loan them the money needed. Eventually the ship ended up in Silja Line's fleet and Slite was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1993.
operator Star Cruises
. In 1995 SF Line changed their name into Viking Line.
Between 1994 and 1996 the company operated a fast ferry service from Helsinki to Tallinn
during the summers on chartered catamaran
ships. In 1997 they purchased MS Silja Scandinavia from Sea-Link Shipping AB and renamed her for Helsinki–Stockholm service. It has been reported that around the same time plans were made to construct a pair of new ships for the Helsinki–Stockholm service so that Viking could better compete with Silja on that route, but the plans were shelved.
In 2006 Sea Containers Ltd
—that had become the main owner of Silja Line
in 1999—placed Silja Line and their cargo-carrying subsidiary SeaWind Line
for sale, except for and that were transferred under Sea Container's direct ownership and eventually sold. Viking Line placed a bid for their main competitor, but were outbid by the Estonian Tallink
.
The first new ship built for Viking Line since Slite's MS Kalypso in 1990, , had been ordered from Aker Finnyards in 2005, in response to growing competition from Tallink on the Helsinki–Tallinn route. The Viking XPRS eventually entered service for Viking in April 2008. A second new ship was ordered in January 2007, when Viking Line announced that they had placed an order for a ferry at the Spanish shipyard Astilleros de Sevilla. The project name for the ship, that would have replaced the on the Mariehamn–Kapellskär route, was Viking ADCC
. Her delivery was originally expected for March 2009, but after delivery of the ship had been delayed multiple times, on 8 February 2010 Viking Line decided to cancel the contract altogether.
. In interviews Backman has stated he hopes to introduce features from Caribbean cruise ship
s to Viking Line vessels, as well as begin selling Viking's routes to North American customers as a new cruise experience.
In a seminar held in January 2010 Backman stated that Viking Line were negotiating with nine different shipyards about the possibility of constructing a pair of ships to replace Amorella and Isabella on the Turku–Stockholm service. The possibility of using liquefied natural gas
engines and other emission-reducing technologies were reportedly reserched, while according to Mikael Backman the ships would include various features akin to those found onboard cruise ship
s such as Royal Caribbean International
's . Projected delivery dates for the vessels were May 2012 and February 2013.
In October 2010 Viking Line signed a letter of intent with STX Turku for a 57,000 GT cruiseferry for the Turku–Stockholm route. Two months later, the formal order for the new ship was placed.
Additionally a large number of ferries were chartered during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s for seasonal traffic.
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 that operates a fleet of ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
and cruiseferries
Cruiseferry
A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship with a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while others use the ships as means of...
between 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...
, the Åland Islands, 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 Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange
Helsinki Stock Exchange
The Helsinki Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Helsinki, Finland. Since 3 September 2003 it has been part of OMX, referred to as OMX Helsinki . Since NASDAQ's acquisition of OMX in February 2008, the official name of the Helsinki exchange has been NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.- History :The...
. Viking Line is operated from the Åland Islands
Åland Islands
The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...
.
Company history
Early years: 1959–1966
Viking Line's history can be traced back to 1959, when a group of sea- and businessmen from the Åland Islands province in Finland formed Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen, purchased a steam-powered car-ferry SS Dinard from the UK, renamed her and began service on the route KorpoKorpo
Korpo is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Nagu and Pargas to form the new town of Väståboland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region...
(Finland) — 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) — Gräddö (Sweden). In the same year the Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
-based 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:...
began a service between Simpnäs (Sweden) and Mariehamn.
In 1962, a disagreement caused a group of people to leave Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen and form a new company, Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan, who began a service linking Gräddö and Mariehamn the following year.
Soon the three companies, all competing for passengers between Åland Islands and Sweden, realised that they in the long run all stood to lose from mutual competition. In 1965 Vikinglinjen and Slite began collaborating, and in the end of July 1966 Viking Line was established as a marketing company for all three companies. At this time Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen changed their name to Rederi Ab Solstad, in order to avoid confusion with the marketing company. The red hull livery was adopted from Slite's Ålandspilen service (to which it had been taken from the colour of the chairman's wife's lipstick!). In 1967 Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan changed its name to SF Line
SF Line
SF Line was the name of the Finnish shipping company presently known as Viking Line. 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...
and in 1977 Rederi Ab Solstad was merged into its mother company Rederi Ab Sally
Rederi 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...
.
1967–1985
Because Viking Line was only a marketing company, each owner company retained their individual fleets and could choose on which routes to set their ships (naturally there was also co-ordination on schedules and such). Each company's ships were easy to distinguish by name: all Sally ships had a "Viking" prefix on their names, Slite took their names from Roman and Greek mythologies, while SF Line's names ended with -ella in honor of managing director Gunnar Eklund's wife Ellen Eklund.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...
as the largest shipping consortium on the Northern Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. Between 1970 and 1973 Slite and Sally took delivery of five nearly identical ships built at Meyer Werft
Meyer Werft
The Meyer Werft is one of the remaining large German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg. Since 1997, it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group together with Neptun Werft in Rostock.-History:...
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, namely MS Apollo and MS Diana for Slite, and MS Viking 1
MS Viking 1
MS Viking 1 was a car and passenger ferry delivered to Rederi Ab Sally for use in Viking Line traffic between Naantali, Finland and Kapellskär, Sweden...
, MS Viking 3 and MS Viking 4 for Sally. MS Viking 5, delivered in 1974, was an enlargened version of the same design. These so-called Papenburg
Papenburg
Papenburg is a city in the district of Emsland in Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners.-Districts:...
sisters can be considered to be one of the most successful ships designs of all times (the shipyard built three additional sisters of the original design for Transbordadores for ship services in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
: Coromuel, Puerto Vallarta and Azteca). In 1973 Viking Line started service on the Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
–Mariehamn–Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
route, directly competing with Silja Line for the first time. The next year Sally began Viking Line traffic between Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
and Stockholm. For the next decade this route stayed in their hands, whereas on other routes the three companies operated together.
By the latter half of the 1970s Sally was clearly the dominant partner in the consortium. In 1980 they took delivery of three new ferries (MS Viking Saga, MS Viking Sally and MS Viking Song), largest to have sailed under Viking's colours. This further established their dominance over the other partners, although SF Line did take delivery of the new MS Turella and MS Rosella in 1979-1980 and Slite MS Diana II in 1979. In the early 1980s Sally started expanding their operations to other waters, which became the company's failing as those operations were largely unprofitable and ultimately made Sally unable to invest on new tonnage for Viking Line service.
1985–1993
In 1985 a new leaf was turned in Viking Line's history when SF Line's brand-new MS Mariella, at the time the largest ferry in the world, replaced MS Viking Song on Helsinki–Stockholm service, breaking Sally's monopoly on the route. The next year Slite took delivery of Mariella's sister MS Olympia and thus forced Sally out of Helsinki–Stockholm traffic completely. While SF Line and Slite were planning additional newbuilds, Sally were in an extremely poor position financially and in 1987 EffoaEffoa
Finland Steamship Company was a Finnish shipping company founded in 1883 by Captain Lars Krogius. In Finnish and Swedish The company was usually referred to simply as FÅA. In 1976, the company changed its name to Effoa, a phonetic spelling of the abbreviation FÅA.The company was a founding member...
and Johnson Line
Johnson Line
Johnson Line was a Sweden-based shipping line founded in 1904 as a subsidiary of Rederi AB Nordstjernan. In 1982 Johnson Line absorbed Rederi AB Svea, another Rederi AB Nordstjernan -owned company, hence becoming a member of the Finnish-Swedish Silja Line consortium...
, the owners of 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...
, purchased Sally. As a result SF Line and Slite forced Sally to leave the Viking Line consortium.
Between 1988 and 1990 SF Line took delivery of three new ships (MS Amorella, MS Isabella and MS Cinderella) while Slite took delivery of two (MS Athena and MS Kalypso). Unfortunately Wärtsilä Marine, the shipyard building one of SF Line's newbuilds and both of Slite's, went bankrupt in 1989. SF Line avoided financial repercussions, their Cinderella had been continuously paid for as her construction progressed. Hence it was SF Line who owned the almost completed ship when the shipyard went bankrupt. Slite however had signed a more traditional type of contract, the Kalypso was to be paid for on delivery. Since the shipyard owned the unfinished ship, this led to an increased cost for the Kalypso - about 200 million SEK more than had been originally envisaged. In the end, despite the financial problems, by 1990 Viking Line had the largest and newest cruiseferry fleet in the world.
In 1989 Slite started planning MS Europa, which was to be the jewel in the company's crown, the largest and most luxurious cruiseferry in the world. Unfortunately for them Sweden entered a financial crisis during the construction of the ship, which led to devaluation of the Swedish krona
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
. This in turn meant that the cost for the Europa increased by 400 million SEK. When time came to take delivery of the new ship, Slite did not have the funds to pay for it and their main funders (Swedish Nordbanken, who were also the main funders of Silja Line) refused to loan them the money needed. Eventually the ship ended up in Silja Line's fleet and Slite was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1993.
1993–2010
Following the bankruptcy of Rederi AB Slite, SF Line was left as the sole operator under the Viking Line brand. The remaining two Slite ships, Athena and Kalypso were auctioned in August 1993. SF Line made a bid for the Kalypso, but both ships ended up sold to the newly-established Malaysian cruise shipCruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
operator Star Cruises
Star Cruises
Star Cruises , a member of Genting Hong Kong, is the sixth largest cruise line in the world behind companies such as Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises...
. In 1995 SF Line changed their name into Viking Line.
Between 1994 and 1996 the company operated a fast ferry service from Helsinki to Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
during the summers on chartered catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
ships. In 1997 they purchased MS Silja Scandinavia from Sea-Link Shipping AB and renamed her for Helsinki–Stockholm service. It has been reported that around the same time plans were made to construct a pair of new ships for the Helsinki–Stockholm service so that Viking could better compete with Silja on that route, but the plans were shelved.
In 2006 Sea Containers Ltd
Sea Containers Ltd
Sea Containers Ltd. is a Bermuda-registered company which operates two main business areas: transport and container leasing.In March 2006 the company sold its share of Orient-Express Hotels...
—that had become the main owner of 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...
in 1999—placed Silja Line and their cargo-carrying subsidiary SeaWind Line
SeaWind Line
SeaWind Line was a subsidiary of the Finnish passenger shipping company Silja Line, later owned by the Estonian company Tallink. In 2010, the Sea Wind brand ceased to exist and the remaining ship, MS Sea Wind, was transferred to Tallink colours. MS Sea Wind is dedicated to cargo shipping only,...
for sale, except for and that were transferred under Sea Container's direct ownership and eventually sold. Viking Line placed a bid for their main competitor, but were outbid by the Estonian Tallink
Tallink
Tallink is an Estonian shipping company currently operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden, Latvia to Sweden and Finland to Germany. They also own Silja Line and a part of SeaRail...
.
The first new ship built for Viking Line since Slite's MS Kalypso in 1990, , had been ordered from Aker Finnyards in 2005, in response to growing competition from Tallink on the Helsinki–Tallinn route. The Viking XPRS eventually entered service for Viking in April 2008. A second new ship was ordered in January 2007, when Viking Line announced that they had placed an order for a ferry at the Spanish shipyard Astilleros de Sevilla. The project name for the ship, that would have replaced the on the Mariehamn–Kapellskär route, was Viking ADCC
Viking ADCC
Viking ADCC was the project name of a day cruiseferry ordered by the Finnish ferry company Viking Line. The ship was to be built by the Spanish shipyard Astilleros de Sevilla and was originally planned for delivery 2009...
. Her delivery was originally expected for March 2009, but after delivery of the ship had been delayed multiple times, on 8 February 2010 Viking Line decided to cancel the contract altogether.
2010–
Nils-Erik Eklund retired as Viking Line's CEO in July 2010. He was replaced by Mikael Backman, who has previously worked with Royal CaribbeanRoyal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International is a Norwegian and American cruise line brand based in Miami, Florida and owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.. With 42 ships in service under 5 different brands and one more under construction, it controls a 25.6% share of the world cruise market...
. In interviews Backman has stated he hopes to introduce features from Caribbean cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
s to Viking Line vessels, as well as begin selling Viking's routes to North American customers as a new cruise experience.
In a seminar held in January 2010 Backman stated that Viking Line were negotiating with nine different shipyards about the possibility of constructing a pair of ships to replace Amorella and Isabella on the Turku–Stockholm service. The possibility of using liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport....
engines and other emission-reducing technologies were reportedly reserched, while according to Mikael Backman the ships would include various features akin to those found onboard cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
s such as Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International is a Norwegian and American cruise line brand based in Miami, Florida and owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.. With 42 ships in service under 5 different brands and one more under construction, it controls a 25.6% share of the world cruise market...
's . Projected delivery dates for the vessels were May 2012 and February 2013.
In October 2010 Viking Line signed a letter of intent with STX Turku for a 57,000 GT cruiseferry for the Turku–Stockholm route. Two months later, the formal order for the new ship was placed.
Current fleet
| Ship | Built | Entered service |
Route | Tonnage | Flag | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Amorella | 1988 | 1988 | Turku Turku Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland... –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... /Långnäs Långnäs Långnäs is a port in Lumparland on the eastern mainland of Åland. Road ferries to Kumlinge and Galtby via Kökar start here. In the early 1960s, Silja Line built a ferry terminal in Långnäs, designed by architect Bengt Lundsten. The terminal was in use 1965-1975 and was then closed and removed in... –Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area... |
 Finland |
||
| MS Gabriella | 1992 | 1997 | Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... –Mariehamn–Stockholm |
Finland |
ex-Frans Suell for Euroway Euroway Euroway was a Swedish ferry company that operated cruise ferries between Sweden and Germany from 1992 till 1994.-History:Founded by the Norwegian businessman, Elling Ellingsen, owner of Sea-Link Shipping AB, with the objective to set up cruiseferry connections between the cities of Malmö in Sweden... , ex-Silja Scandinavia for Silja Line |
|
| MS Isabella | 1989 | 1989 | Turku–Mariehamn/Långnäs–Stockholm | Finland |
||
| MS Mariella | 1985 | 1985 | Helsinki–Mariehamn–Stockholm | Finland |
||
| MS Rosella | 1980 | 1980 | Mariehamn–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 |
||
| MS Viking Cinderella | 1989 | 1989 | Stockholm–Mariehamn (one-day cruises) Stockholm–Riga Riga Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,... (summers only) Stockholm–Tallinn Tallinn Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list... (summers only) |
Sweden |
Previously Cinderella; renamed Viking Cinderella in 2003 | |
| MS Viking XPRS MS Viking XPRS MS 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... |
2008 | 2008 | Helsinki–Tallinn | Sweden |
Ship on order
| Ship | To enter service | Route | Tonnage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newbuilding | 2013 | Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm |
Former ships
| Ship | Years in service | Owner/operator | Tonnage | Status as of 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS Viking | 1959–1970 | Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen | Scrapped 1973 | |
| MS Slite MS Tella |
1959–1964 1989 (chartered) |
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:... Viking Line |
Scrapped 2006 | |
| MS Boge | 1961–1963 | Rederi AB Slite | Sunk 1981 | |
| MS Panny | 1963–1964 | Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen | Scrapped 1985 | |
| SS Ålandsfärjan | 1963–1972 | Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan | Scrapped 1972 | |
| MS Drotten | 1964–1966 | Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen | Scrapped 1979 | |
| MS Apollo | 1964–1967 | Rederi AB Slite | Scrapped 2006 | |
| MS Visby | 1965 (chartered) 1967–1970 (chartered) |
Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan Rederi AB Slite |
Scrapped 2002 | |
| MS Kapella | 1967–1979 | Rederi Ab Ålandsfärjan | Scrapped 2006 | |
| MS Viking 2 | 1968–1978 | Rederi Ab Solstad | Scrapped 1979 | |
| MS Apollo | 1970–1976 | Rederi AB Slite | Since 2000 MS Apollo for Woodward Group | |
| MS Viking 1 MS Viking 1 MS Viking 1 was a car and passenger ferry delivered to Rederi Ab Sally for use in Viking Line traffic between Naantali, Finland and Kapellskär, Sweden... |
1970–1983 | Rederi Ab Sally Rederi 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... |
Scrapped 2002 | |
| MS Marella | 1970–1981 | SF Line SF Line SF Line was the name of the Finnish shipping company presently known as Viking Line. 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... |
Scrapped 2004 | |
| MS Viking 3 | 1972–1976 | Rederi Ab Sally | Since 2007 MS Ionian Sprit for Agoudimos Lines. Laid up 2010 | |
| MS Diana | 1972–1979 | Rederi AB Slite | Since 2006 MS Jamaa II for Bayway Shipping Co. | |
| MS Viking 4 | 1973–1980 | Rederi Ab Sally | Scrapped 2005 | |
| MS Aurella | 1973–1982 | SF Line | Since 2002 MS C.T.M.A. Vacancier for C.T.M.A. | |
| MS Viking 5 | 1974–1981 | Rederi Ab Sally | Since 1988 MS Boughaz for Comarit Comarit Comarit is a Moroccan ferry operator. The company operates ferries connecting Morocco with Spain and France.-History:Comarit was formed in 1984.... |
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| MS Viking 6 | 1974–1980 | Rederi Ab Sally | Scrapped 2001 | |
| SS Apollo III MS Apollo III |
1976-1981 1982-1989 |
Rederi AB Slite | Sold for scrap, July 2008. | |
| MS Turella | 1979–1988 | SF Line | Since 2010 MS Regina Della Pace for Blue Line International Blue Line International Blue Line International is a ferry company owned by the Croatia-based SEM Maritime Company . It operates two car/passenger ferries between Croatia and Italy... |
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| MS Diana II | 1979–1992 | Rederi AB Slite | Since 2007 MS ARV 1 for Equinox Offshore Accommodation | |
| MS Viking Saga | 1980–1986 | Rederi Ab Sally | Burnt in 1990; rebuilt 1992. Since 2007 MS Cristal for Louis Cruise Lines Louis Cruise Lines Louis Cruises is a Cyprus-based cruise line that operates cruises from Cyprus, France, Italy, India and Greece . The company also charters several ships to Thomson Cruises... . |
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| MS Viking Sally | 1980–1990 | Rederi Ab Sally Rederi AB Slite |
Sunk 1994 as MS Estonia | |
| MS Viking Song | 1980–1986 | Rederi Ab Sally | Since 2010 MS Regina Baltica for Acciona Trasmediterranea Acciona Trasmediterránea Acciona Trasmediterránea is part of the Acciona group. It operates passengers and cargo ferries between mainland Spain and the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and northern Africa.-History:... |
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| MS Olympia | 1986–1993 | Rederi AB Slite | Since 2011 MS Princessa Anastasia for St.Peter Line | |
| 1987–2008 | SF Line/Viking Line | Since 2008 MS Expedition for G.A.P. Shipping | ||
| MS Athena | 1989–1993 | Rederi AB Slite | Since 2001 MS Pearl of Scandinavia for DFDS DFDS DFDS is a Danish shipping company. It is one of the world's largest ferry operators. The companies name is an acronym of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab DFDS is a Danish shipping company. It is one of the world's largest ferry operators. The companies name is an acronym of Det Forenede... |
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| MS Kalypso | 1990–1994 | Rederi AB Slite | Since 1994 MS Star Pisces for Star Cruises Star Cruises Star Cruises , a member of Genting Hong Kong, is the sixth largest cruise line in the world behind companies such as Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises... |
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| HSC Condor 10 HSC Condor 10 The HSC Condor 10 is a 74m fast catamaran ferry formerly operated by Condor Ferries but now operating in Pusan, South Korea.-History:Condor 10 was built in 1992 at the Incat Yards in Tasmania, Australia as Condor Ten but was renamed Condor 10 shortly after... (marketed as Viking Express I) |
1995 (chartered) | Viking Line | Since 2002 HSC Condor 10 Condor Ferries Condor Ferries Condor Ferries is an operator of ferry services between mainland England and the Channel Islands, between England and France, and between France and the Channel Islands.-Recent history:... |
Additionally a large number of ferries were chartered during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s for seasonal traffic.
Ordered but never delivered
| Planned/project name | Projected delivery | Ordered by | Tonnage | Notes | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 1962 | Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen | Completed for Finnlines Finnlines Finnlines Plc is a Finnish shipping company that operates freight throughout Northern Europe as well as passenger services in the Baltic Sea. In the past, Finnlines has operated ships under the brands Finncarriers, Finnflow Systems, Finnjet Lines, and FG Shipping Oy Ab... as , 1962 |
Scrapped 2003 | |
| 1993 | Rederi AB Slite | Completed for 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... as , 1993 |
In Silja Line service | ||
| Viking ADCC Viking ADCC Viking ADCC was the project name of a day cruiseferry ordered by the Finnish ferry company Viking Line. The ship was to be built by the Spanish shipyard Astilleros de Sevilla and was originally planned for delivery 2009... |
2009 | Viking Line | Hull remains incomplete at shipyard |