MS Silja Festival

MS Silja Festival arriving in Mariehamn, May 2005.
Career
Name:	1986–1992: Wellamo 1992 onwards: Silja Festival[1]
Owner:	1986–1991: Effoa 1991–1992: EffJohn 1992–2006: Silja Line[1] 2006–2015: Tallink Group[2] 2015 onwards: Forship S.p.A
Operator:	1986–2008: Silja Line 2008–2015: Tallink[1] 2015 onwards: Corsica Ferries
Port of registry:	1986–1992: Helsinki,  Finland 1992–1997: Mariehamn,  Finland 1997–2008: Stockholm,  Sweden 2008–2015: Riga,  Latvia[1] 2015 onwards: Genova,  Italy
Route:	-
Ordered:	1983-04-13[3]
Builder:	Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard, Helsinki, Finland[3]
Yard number:	471[1]
Laid down:	1984-05-22[3]
Launched:	1985-03-15[1]
Christened:	1986-01-09 by Pirkko Työläjärvi[3]
Acquired:	1986-01-09[3]
Maiden voyage:	1986-01-09[3]
In service:	1986-01-09[3]
Identification:	IMO number: 8306498[1]
Status:	Serves as floating hotel in Kitimat, Canada
General characteristics (as built)[3]
Type:	Cruiseferry
Tonnage:	33,818 GT 3,000 DWT
Length:	168.00 m (551 ft 2 in)
Beam:	27.60 m (90 ft 7 in)
Draught:	6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
Depth:	14.45 m (47 ft 5 in)[4]
Ice class:	1A Super
Installed power:	4 × Wärtsilä-SEMT-Pielstick 12PC 2-6V combined 26,200 kW (35,100 hp)[1]
Propulsion:	2 propellers 2 bow thrusters 1 stern thruster
Speed:	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity:	2,000 passengers 1,625 berths 1,200 lanemeters 360 cars
General characteristics (after 1992 rebuilt)[3]
Tonnage:	34,417 GT 3,720 DWT
Capacity:	1,886 passengers 1,937 berths 300 cars[1]
Notes:	Otherwise the same as built

MS Silja Festival is a cruiseferry owned and operated by the Estonia-based Tallink, used on their route connecting Riga, Latvia to Stockholm, Sweden. She was built in 1986 by Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard, Finland, for Effoa as MS Wellamo for use on Silja Line traffic. She was rebuilt in 1992 at Lloyds Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany as Silja Festival. In 2008 the ship was transferred from the Silja Line fleet to that of Tallink, but she retained her Silja-prefixed name.^[1] Since May 6th 2013, the ship is laid up awaiting a decision for her future.

History

Wellamo

Following the delivery of the highly successful MS Finlandia and MS Silvia Regina for Silja Line's Helsinki–Stockholm service, Johnson Line and Effoa decided to order a pair of ships based on a similar design for the Turku–Stockholm service.^[5] The first of the new ships, named MS Svea, was delivered to Johnson Line in May 1985.^[6] The ship built for Effoa was given the name MS Wellamo (after the goddess of the sea in Finnish mythology, a traditional name in Effoa fleet) and delivered in January 1986. Following delivery she was placed on the Stockholm–Mariehamn–Turku route.^[1][7]

The Wellamo suffered her first major mishap in July of the same year when she suffered a blackout and was grounded near Mariahamn. Following the grounding she was repaired at Luonnonmaan Telakka, Naantali, Finland.^[1][7] In 1989 plans were made for converting the ship to a combined car/passenger/train ferry, but these were abandoned.^[1] In the summer of 1990 the Wellamo briefly served on the Helsinki–Stockholm route,^[1][7] because the new Silja Serenade was not yet complete, but old MS Finlandia had to be delivered to her new owners DFDS.^[8] During the same year Effoa and Johnson Line merged to form EffJohn, who now became the sole owners of Silja Line.^[8]

In the early 1990s EffJohn planned a large-scale reconstruction of GTS Finnjet. However the company could not gather enough funds to realise this project. Instead the money was used to rebuild the Svea and Wellamo.^[9] In 1992, Wellamo was docked and rebuild at Lloyds Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany. Most notable exterior changes were a new skybar in front of the funnel and a new, more blue-dominated livery. Following the reconstruction the Wellamo was renamed MS Silja Festival (her sister having become MS Silja Karneval).^[1][7] Around the same time her homeport was changed from Helsinki to Mariehamn.^[1]

Silja Festival unloading in Turku in August 2001.

Silja Festival

Initially Silja Festival continued on the same route as before, alongside her sister, but following the acquisition of MS Silja Europa and the subsequent fleet re-organisation there was no longer a need for the ship on the Turku route. As a result was placed on the Vaasa–Umeå route from 20 March to 23 May 1993. When Silja Line began collaboration with Euroway in June 1993, Silja Festival was moved to their Malmö–Travemünde–Lübeck route, sailing parallel to MS Frans Suell. From there on the service was maketed as Silja Line Euroway. A few months later the route was extended to Copenhagen.^[1][7]

After the Euroway service was terminated in April 1994, Silja Festival was moved back to the Kvarken to operate from Vaasa to Umeå and Sundsvall.^[1][7] Around this time Silja Line made an agreement to sell Silja Festival or her sistership Silja Karneval to Norwegian ferry operator Color Line. Although Silja Karneval was the ship finally sold to Color, the new owners had presumed they'd be getting Silja Festival and had made promotional posters for their new ship accordingly. As a result the Silja Karneval was confusingly renamed MS Color Festival.

In 2 September 1994, Silja Festival was moved from Vaasa to serve the Helsinki–Tallinn route. For the summer of 1995, (26 June to 14 August) she served Vaasa–Sundsvall again, then returned to Helsinki–Tallinn. After the charter agreement of MS Silja Scandinavia ended in April 1997^[10] On 5 April 1997, Silja Line switched the ship's flag from Finnish to Swedish and put her back on Stockholm–Mariehamn–Turku service, where she remained until 2008.^[1][7]

Silja Festival was replaced on the Turku–Stockholm service by MS Galaxy on 23 July 2008. Subsequently, Silja Festival was moved to the Latvian ship registry, repainted with Tallink logos, and entered service on Tallink's Stockholm–Riga route on 2 August 2008.^[1][11] Despite being moved under the Tallink brand and marketed as "Festival", the ship's registered name remained as Silja Festival.^[1][12]

On April 5th 2013, Tallink announced the purchase of Viking Line´s ferry MS Isabella which then replaced MS Silja Festival on the Stockholm-Riga route on May 6th, 2013. MS Isabelle, which became the new name in the Tallink fleet, has more passenger and car capacity which is needed to meet the increased demand on the route.^[13]

On January 28th, 2014 it was announced that Rio Tinto Alcan is bringing in Silja Festival, for a nine-month stay to provide accommodations for temporary workers in Kitimat, British Columbia and will be assigned the name "Delta Spirit Lodge". ^[14]

Decks

1. Engine room, cinema
2. Engine room, Tourist II-class cabins, sauna, swimming pool and hot tubs
3. Car deck
   1. Car platform, can be lowered hydraulically to divide the car deck in two giving space for two layers of passenger cars
4. Seaside, Tourist I and Tourist I S-class cabins, Lobby shop, Siljaland children's playroom, information desk, boarding, crew accommodations
5. Silja, Seaside, Tourist I and Tourist I S-class cabins, crew accommodations
6. Suites, Silja, Seaside, Tourist I and Tourist I S-class cabins, crew accommodations
7. Dancing Palace night club (level 1), Captain's Grill restaurant, Trattoria restaurant, Café Martim, Sailor's Pub, Buffet Veranda
8. Dancing Palace night club (level 2), casino, conference rooms, tax-free shop, perfumerie
9. Panorama bar, crew accommodations, sundeck
10. Crew accommodations
11. Bridge^[15]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Silja Festival (ship, 1986).

• Tallink Silja
• Silja Festival at marinetraffic.com