Bore in her restored original livery in Turku, Finland. |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | 1960-1977: Bore 1977-1987: Borea 1988-2010: Kristina Regina 2010 onwards: Bore (planned) |
| Owner: | 1960-1977: Bore Steamship Company 1977-1984: Jakob Lines 1984-1987: Helsingfors Steamship Company 1987-2010: Kristina Cruises[1] 2010 onwards: Oy S/S Borea Ab |
| Operator: | 1960-1970: Bore Steamship Company 1970-1976: Silja Line 1977-1984: Jakob Lines 1984: Aura Line 1984-1987: laid up 1987-2010: Kristina Cruises[1] 2010 onwards: laid up as a hotel ship |
| Port of registry: | 1960-1977: Turku, Finland 1977-1984: Jakobstad, Finland 1984-1987: Helsinki, Finland 1987 onwards: Kotka, Finland[1] |
| Builder: | Oskarshamn Shipyard |
| Yard number: | 353 |
| In service: | 1960 |
| Out of service: | 2010 (planned) |
| Identification: | IMO number: 5048485 |
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 3,492 GRT (1960) 4,295 GT (1988) |
| Length: | 327 feet |
| Beam: | 50.2 feet |
| Speed: | 17.5 knots |
| Notes: | [2] |
MS Bore is a combination museum and hotel ship docked permanently in Turku, Finland. She was originally built in 1960 by Oskarshamn shipyard, Oskarshamn, Sweden as the car/passenger ferry SS Bore for Steamship Company Bore, Finland, then the last commercial steam ship built in Scandinavia and the first ferry on the route between Finland and Sweden where cars could drive aboard. She was later known as SS Borea, before being rebuilt as cruiseship in 1988. 1988 to 2010 she was owned by the Finnish shipping company Kristina Cruises and known as MS Kristina Regina until she was retired due to being unable to fulfill new safety regulations.
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SS Bore was built at the Oskarshamn shipyard in Oskarshamn, Sweden. On 5 April 1960 she was delivered to the Finnish Bore Steamship Company, who were at the time collaborating with Finland Steamship Company and Rederi AB Svea (this collaboration gave birth to Silja Line in 1970). She was initially placed on the route Turku — Mariehamn — Stockholm, although she was often used on the Helsinki — Stockholm route as well. Most Bore Steamship Company's ships had a number in their name (Bore I, Bore II, etc), and the lack of number in the name of this ship led to it being nicknamed Nolla-Bore (Zero-Bore) by Finnish seamen. In 1972 the ship was rebuilt with additional cabins. She ended service with Silja Line in September 1976, after which she was laid up in Stockholm until October 1977 when she was sold to Jakob Lines, a company Bore Steamship owned a large share of. She was renovated and renamed SS Borea. In 1978, the Borea started operating between Jakobstad and Skellefteå. Generally Jakob Lines only operated her during the summer months, the rest of the year was spent either laid up or occasionally chartered to other companies.
Jakob Lines sold the ship in 1984 to Finnish Aura Line who used her to restart steamship traffic from Turku to Stockholm as a tourist venture. Borea started traffic for Aura Line in June 1984, but already in October of the same year Aura Line was declared bankrupt. The ship spent another year laid up, until she was sold to a Canadian businessman who planned to convert her to a luxury cruise ship. The plan was never carried out, and the ship continued to be laid up in Turku until January 1987 when Rannikkolinjat, a Finnish company later known as Kristina Cruises, purchased her.
The ship was extensively rebuilt as a cruise ship, her steam engines switched to diesel ones and she was renamed MS Kristina Regina. In 1988, Kristina Regina was placed on cruise traffic from Finland mostly to destinations along the Gulf of Finland, but later also destinations in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and Africa's west coast. As of February 2007, she is the only Finnish cruiseship in service.
In her current construction the Kristina Regina does not fulfill the requirements of the SOLAS 2010 regulations, and as a result she will be withdrawn from international cruise service in 2010, being replaced by the much larger Kristina Katarina.[3][4] According to archives from apolloduck.com she was put up for sale on May 15, 2010. [5] It was reported on July 29, 2010 that she may be sold for preservation to Turku, Finland-based Oy S/S Borea Ab. The sale to Oy S/S Borea Ab was confirmed shortly after, and the City of Turku has granted the Kristina Regina a permanent berth. If the venture goes as planned, she will be renamed and restored into her livery as Bore and be opened as a hotel, restaurant and museum. [6] The grand opening of the ship in her new role was held on October 10. [7]