MS Isabelle

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Isabelle at Quay 17 in Tallinn, 3 May 2013
Career
Name: Isabella (1989–2013)
Isabelle (2013–)
Owner: 1989–1995: SF Line
1995–2013: Viking Line[1]
2013 onwards: Tallink (Hansalink Limited)
Port of registry: Mariehamn,  Finland (1989–2013)
Riga,  Latvia (2013–)
Route: Riga–Stockholm
Ordered: 4 February 1986[1]
Builder: Brodogradilište Split, Split, Croatia[1]
Yard number: 357[1]
Laid down: 15 September 1987[2]
Launched: 13 August 1988[1]
Christened: 5 June 1989[1]
Acquired: 15 June 1989[1]
In service: 4 July 1989[1]
Identification: Call sign: YLEZ
IMO number: 8700723
MMSI number: 275430000
Status: In service
General characteristics (as built)[1]
Type: Cruiseferry, Passenger/Ro-Ro Cargo Ship
Tonnage: 34,386 GT
3,680 DWT
Length: 169.40 m (555 ft 9 in)
Beam: 27.61 m (90 ft 7 in)
Draught: 6.26 m (20 ft 6 in)
Decks: 12[3]
Ice class: 1A Super[4]
Installed power: 4 × Wärtsilä-Pielstick 12PC2.6V-400e
24,000 kW (combined)
Propulsion: Two shafts; controllabe-pitch propellers
Speed: 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Capacity: 2,200 passengers
1,983 passenger berths
410 cars
970 lanemetres
General characteristics (after 2007 refit)[4]
Tonnage: 35,154 GT
20,682 NT
3,680 DWT
Length: 169.40 m (555 ft 9 in)
Beam: 28.2 m (92 ft 6 in)
Draught: 6.35 m (20 ft 10 in)
Depth: 14.05 m (46 ft 1 in)
Capacity: 2,480 passengers
2,166 passenger berths
364 cars
850 lanemetres
Notes: Otherwise the same as built

MS Isabelle is a cruiseferry[5] owned and operated by the Estonia-based Tallink. She was built in 1989 by Brodogradilište Split in Split, Croatia, for SF Line—one of the partners in the Viking Line consortium—as Isabella. The ship is currently serving the Riga-Stockholm route.

Isabelle has two sister ships in the Viking Line fleet, Amorella and Gabriella, and a third one, Crown Seaways, operated by DFDS Seaways.

Concept and construction

Isabella was the second of two sister ships ordered by SF Line from Brodogradiliste Split in Split, Croatia for Viking Line service (the first sister being Amorella). Order for Isabella was placed on 1986-02-04,[1] her keep was laid on 1987-09-15,[2] and she was launched on 1988-08-13. Delivery to SF Line took place on 1989-06-15, and on 1989-06-20 the ship left Yugoslavia for Finland.[1]

Service history

Isabella in the Archipelago Sea, 19 May 2008

Prior to entering service Isabella visited Pori, Finland where the ship was displayed to the public on 1989-07-03.[1] She had originally been planned to replace Rosella on the Naantali–Mariehamn–Kapellskär route, but the authorities of Kapellskär failed to modernise the port of the town to accommodate a ship of such large size.[citation needed] As a result, when delivered the ship was placed on a new Naantali–Stockholm route for the northern hemisphere summer season, and 24 hour cruises from Helsinki for the rest of the year.[1]

In spring 1992 the ship was rebuilt at Naantali with a new skybar on deck 11, new cabins in place of the former second cardeck on deck 5 and her livery was slightly altered by the addition of a red stripe running along the windows of deck 6. After the 1992 summer season SF Line decided to terminate the Naantali–Stockholm service and the Isabella was placed on the Helsinki cruise route all year round. In summer 1993 she made a handful of cruises from Helsinki to Visby. After the 1994 summer season Isabella swapped routes with Cinderella and served Helsinki–Stockholm for the next three years. During the summer of 1996, instead of spending the day in Helsinki she made short 'picnic' cruises to Tallinn. These proved to be unprofitable and were terminated after the single season.[1]

In 1997 Viking Line placed Isabella's newly purchased sister Gabriella on the Helsinki–Stockholm route and Isabella joined Amorella on the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route. After this Isabella has occasionally sailed on the Helsinki route when the normal ships of that route have been docked. She was rebuilt with rear sponsons at Naantali in 2000.[1]

In September 2007 the ship was again docked at Naantali. Her tax-free shop, pub and disco were completely rebuilt, and two restaurants based on new concepts replaced two earlier restaurants. Viking Line had plans to refurbish all of the ship's cabins as a part of their large-scale fleet rebuilding programme.[6]

In January 2013, Isabella was replaced by the newbuilding Viking Grace. She then temporarily replaced the docked Amorella from January 16th to February 11th. After that she was laid up in Turku awaiting her entrance on the Helsinki-Tallinn route for the summer season starting in May 2013. This was in case no buyer for her was found. Since the summer of 2012, Isabella was on sale in the international market.

On April 5th 2013, Viking Line announced that Isabella has been sold to the competitor Tallink. This means that Isabella will not sail on the Helsinki-Tallinn route as originally planned. According to the CEO, "some 10 000 bookings" are now affected by this but they will all be compensated.[7] Isabella replaced Silja Festival on the Stockholm-Riga route.

In April 2013, Isabella was renamed Isabelle and her port of registry was changed to Riga, Latvia.[4]

From late April 2013 until 5th of May 2013, she was in Tallinn for maintenance and repainting. On the 6th of May she made her first voyage on the Riga - Stockholm route.

Decks

As built, 1989

  1. Engine room
  2. Inside cabins
  3. Car deck
  4. Car deck (hydraulic platform that can be lowered to divide the car deck in two)
  5. Outside and inside cabins, car deck
  6. Sauna, hot tubs, swimming pool, outside and inside cabins
  7. Cafeteria, children's playroom, information desk, tax-free shops, outside and inside cabins
  8. Buffet and a la carte restaurants, pub, conference rooms, casino, night club
  9. Discothèque (lower level), outside and inside cabin, sun deck
  10. Discothèque (upper level), conference rooms, outside and inside cabins
  11. Crew accommodations, sun deck
  12. Bridge[3]

As rebuilt, 1993/2007

  1. Engine room
  2. Inside cabins
  3. Car deck
  4. Car deck (hydraulic platform that can be lowered to divide the car deck in two)
  5. Outside and inside cabins, car deck
  6. Sauna, hot tubs, swimming pool, outside and inside cabins
  7. Cafeteria, children's playroom, driver's club, air seats, games room, information desk, tax-free shops, outside and inside cabins
  8. Buffet and a la carte restaurants, tapas bar, pub, conference rooms, casino, night club
  9. Discothèque (lower level), conference room, outside and inside cabin, sun deck
  10. Discothèque (upper level), conference rooms, outside and inside cabins
  11. Sky bar, conference rooms, crew accommodations, sun deck
  12. Bridge[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Asklander, Micke. "M/S Isabella (1989)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 2008-09-25. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Isabella – Yard". DNV Exchange. Det Norske Veritas. Retrieved 2008-09-25. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "M/S Isabella (1989) Översiktsritning". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 2008-09-25 (dead link 2013-04-27). 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Isabelle (15383)". DNV Exchange. Det Norske Veritas. https://exchange.dnv.com/exchange/main.aspx?extool=vessel&subview=summary&vesselid=15383. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  5. ↑ Isabella and her sisters. IHS Fairplay, 25 April 2013. Retrieved on 2013-05-04.
  6. ↑ (Finnish) Viking Line press release: Viking Linella merkittävä laadunkehitysohjelma, retrieved 23. 10. 2007
  7. ↑ http://www.iltasanomat.fi/matkat/art-1288553882436.html
  8. ↑ "Isabella" (PDF) (in Swedish/Finnish/English). Viking Line. pp. 16, 18–19. Retrieved 2008-09-19. 

External links

Media related to Isabella (ship, 1989) at Wikimedia Commons

Tallink
Silja Line
On charter
Laid up
Current fleet
Former ships
Ordered, never delivered
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