MV Atlantic Vision in St John's harbour, December 2008. Some of the paint has peeled away from the bow, revealing the old Superfast/Tallink red hull colour underneath. |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | 2002—2008: MS Superfast IX 2008 onwards: MV Atlantic Vision |
| Owner: | 2002—2006: Superfast Ferries 2006 onwards: Tallink[1] |
| Operator: | 2002—2006: Superfast Ferries 2006—2008: Tallink 2008 onwards: Marine Atlantic[1] |
| Port of registry: | 2002—2006: Piraeus, Greece 2006—2008: Paldiski, Estonia 2008 onwards: St Johns, Canada [2] |
| Route: |
Channel-Port aux Basques—North Sydney Argentia-North Sydney (Starting summer 2011) |
| Builder: | HDW, Kiel, Germany |
| Yard number: | 359[1] |
| Launched: | 18 November 2000[1] |
| Christened: | 11 January 2002[1] |
| Acquired: | 8 January 2002[1] |
| Maiden voyage: | 10 January 2002[1] |
| In service: | 10 January 2002[1] |
| Identification: | IMO number: 9211509[1] |
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics (as built)[1] | |
| Class and type: | Superfast VII class fast ropax ferry |
| Tonnage: | 30,285 GT (gross tonnage) |
| Displacement: | 5,525 metric tons deadweight (DWT) |
| Length: | 203.30 m (667 ft) |
| Beam: | 25.00 m (82 ft) |
| Draught: | 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in) |
| Decks: | 10[3] |
| Ice class: | 1 A Super[3] |
| Installed power: | 4 × Wärtsilä-Sulzer NSD ZA V40S diesels combined 46000 kW |
| Propulsion: | 2 propellers 2 bow thrusters 1 stern thruster[4] |
| Speed: | 30.4 kn (56.30 km/h) (maximum)[3] 25.5 kn (47.23 km/h) (service)[4] |
| Capacity: | 626 passengers (as built) 728 passengers (after 2004 refit)[3] 962 passengers (after 2008 refit)[4] 661 cars (as built) 531 cars (after 2008 refit)[4] 1920 lane meters |
MV Atlantic Vision is a fast ro-pax ferry owned by the Estonian ferry company Tallink, under charter to the Canada-based Marine Atlantic. As of 2009 she is operated on Marine Atlantic's service between Port aux Basques and/or Argentia, Newfoundland and North Sydney, Nova Scotia.
The ship was built in 2002 as MS Superfast IX by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel, Germany for Attica Group's subsidiary Superfast Ferries.[1]
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In 2001 Superfast Ferries had made a deal with the Swedish government to operate a ferry connection between Södertälje in Sweden and Rostock for ten years, starting from spring 2002. Superfast IX inaugurated this service in January 2002 (she started service on 10 January but wasn't officially named until the 11). The route proved to be unprofitable, and in April of the same year the it was closed down, with the Superfast IX laid up at HDW in Kiel. On May of the same year Superfast IX, alongside her sister MS Superfast X, started a new service for Superfast, connecting Rosyth (Scotland) to Zeebrugge (Belgium). In February 2004 she was rebuilt with extra cabins at Fosen Mekaniske Verksteder, Fosen, Norway. In November 2005 the Superfast IX was moved to Hanko—Rostock route.[1]
In March 2006 Superfast sold their Baltic Sea operations to Tallink for €310 million.[5] Following this the Superfast IX and her sisters were re-registered to Paldiski in Estonia, and the route changed to Hanko—Paldiski—Rostock from April 2006 onwards.[1] Calling at Paldiski proved problematic as Estonia was not a member of the Schengen Treaty, and in June of the same year the route reverted back to Hanko—Rostock.[1] According to the agreement Tallink could keep the Superfast marketing name until the end of 2007, but the ships' hulls soon sported the texts "Superfast operated by Tallink". From the beginning on the year 2007 the ship's route changed to Tallinn—Helsinki—Rostock, with the West Harbour as the port in Helsinki.[6] As the same time all remaining Superfast logos and hull markings were removed.[1] At the time it was reported that coinciding with the move to sail from Helsinki the Superfast ships would be transferred to the fleet of Tallink's subsidiary Silja Line, but this did not came to pass.[7]
In April 2008 Tallink made an agreement for chartering the Superfast IX to Marine Atlantic, a Canadian Crown Corporation, for five years from October 2008 onwards.[8] The Government of Canada will provide Marine Atlantic with $101 million over five years to fund the charter.[9] The ship will be used by Marine Atlantic on their service between Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and North Sydney, Nova Scotia.[10][11] A naming competition was held for the ship, with students in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Cape Breton eligible to make entries.[12] On 21 June 2008 the results of the competition were published, and Atlantic Vision was chosen as the new name for the vessel.[13]
The Superfast IX ceased service with Tallink on 31 August 2008 and subsequently sailed to Luonnonmaan telakka (Turku Repair Yard) in Naantali, Finland for reconstruction into her new service.[1] The changes made included the installation more powerful bow thrusters, rebuilding the bow and stern ramps as well as refurbishing the interiors.[14] The ship was renamed MV Atlantic Vision in November 2008.[1] The reconstruction was completed on 14 November 2008, and on the same date the ship was officially delivered to Marine Atlantic.[1][15]
The Atlantic Vision arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland on 7 December 2008.[1] During the crossing from Finland to Canada the ship suffered damage to the bow with a part of the front loading ramp breaking off and paint peeling from the bow. The clam doors protecting the cardeck were undamaged. A renaming ceremony was held for the ship on 11 December 2008, although she had officially been renamed already during the previous month.[1]
There are still Estonian language instructions on the vehicle decks boilers from the ferry's homeland port in Estonia, as well as Superfast pictures and wallpapers in the Children's Playroom and near the restaurant.
The Atlantic Vision entered service on the Port-aux-Basques—North Sydney route on 1 April 2009.[16] In the summer months, the ship also operates on the North Sydney - Argentia Route.
On 27 December 2008, while the ship was still moored in North Sydney awaiting the beginning of service, a fire broke out in one of the two heating units of the Atlantic Vision at 11:50 PM local time. The North Sydney fire department assisted the crew in containing the fire to the boiler room. The fire was extinguished by 1:00 AM on 28 December. No injuries were suffered, but the damage to the ship delayed her entry into service, which was originally slated for March 2009.[17]
The Atlantic Vision was again forced to dock when a fire broke out in the second of two heating units on 29 July 2009.[18] The ferry was briefly taken out of service again on 18 August, after striking the dock in Port-aux-Basques, causing a "small abrasion" in the fender at the stern of the vessel. The damage was inspected and repaired and the Atlantic Vision returned to service later that day.[19]
On 7 October 2009, Marine Atlantic received a bomb threat directed against the Atlantic Vision, which was docked in Port-aux-Basques at the time. The vessel was evacuated and investigated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but the threat was determined to be a hoax, and the Vision returned to service shortly thereafter.[20]
On 22 December 2009, the Atlantic Vision was again taken out of service after high winds forced the vessel against the fenders during docking procedures at Port-aux-Basques, causing a puncture 5 meters above the waterline at the stern of the vessel. The temporary loss of the Vision caused additional delays, as other ferries on the North Sydney - Port-aux-Basques run were unable to dock and offload in Port-aux-Basques while the Vision was being repaired.[21] The Atlantic Vision was repaired and returned to service late on 23 December 2009.[22]
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