MS Superstar

Superstar arriving in Tallinn, May 2008
Career
Name: Superstar
Owner: Tallink Group Ltd
Operator: Tallink
Route: Tallinn–Helsinki[1]
Ordered: 5 August 2005[2]
Builder: Fincantieri Ancona, Italy[3]
Cost: €120 million[4]
Yard number: 6140[3]
Laid down: 18 January 2007[5]
Launched: 5 October 2007[6]
Christened: 5 October 2007 by Kaia Kanepi[6]
Acquired: 8 April 2008[4]
In service: 21 April 2008[1]
Identification: IMO number: 9365398[3]
Status: In service
General characteristics [3]
Class and type:Fast cruiseferry
Tonnage:36,400 GT
5,400 DWT
Length:175.10 m (574 ft 6 in)[4]
Beam:27.60 m (90 ft 7 in)
Draught:7.00 m (23 ft)
Ice class:1 A[6]
Installed power:Four Wärtsilä diesel engines
50,400 kW (combined)
Speed:27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph)
Capacity:2,080 passengers[4]
173 berths[4]
665 cars
1,930 lanemeters[4]

MS Superstar is a fast ferry owned by the Estonia-based Tallink and operated on their Helsinki–Tallinn service. She was built in 2008 at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy.[3]

Concept and construction

The design of the Superstar is based on Moby Lines' Moby Wonder.[3] The original order included an option for a second ship of the same type, which Tallink decided not to exercise.[2]

The keel of the vessel was laid on January 18, 2007.[5] On October 5, 2007, the Superstar was christened by the Estonian tennis player Kaia Kanepi.[6] The ship was delivered on 8 April 2008[4] and left Ancona for the Baltic Sea a day later.

Service history

Superstar entered service on Tallink's Helsinki–Tallinn route on 21 April 2008.[3] On 30 April 2008 the ship suffered a hydraulics problem while leaving Tallinn, and one Tallinn–Helsinki roundtrip had to be cancelled.[7] On 27 February 2009, while en route from Tallinn to Helsinki with 400 passengers on board, the ship's main engines stopped due to problems with the cooling systems at 8:45 am. The ship was adrift for nearly two hours, with emergency generators providing electricity, until full power could be restored at 10:30 am. Superstar arrived in Helsinki at 11:30, two hours behind schedule.[8][9]

Design

The green external livery of the ship is according to Tallink promotion material "meant to reflect the environmentally friendly aspects of the ship's design".[6]

The onboard facilities include a three-deck high showlounge, four restaurants, cafeteria, two bars, a casino, a business lounge and various shops. The interiors of the ship were designed by the Italian designers Carlo Ciribi and Alessandro Cestaro.[6]

Sister ship

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Laevad: Superstar" (in Estonian). Tallink. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 (Finnish) FCBS Forum: Tallink tilasi nopeakulkuisen lautan myös Fincantieriltä, retrieved 7 October 2007
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Asklander, Micke. "M/S Superstar (2008)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 "Superstar was delivered to Tallink". Tallink press release. Tallink. 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Tallink's New Vessel's Keel to be Laid in Italy Today". Tallink press release. Tallink. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Tallink's New Vessel Named Superstar". Tallink press release. Tallink. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  7. ↑ "Tallink Superstar jatkaa liikennöintiä tänä iltana". MTV3 / Kotimaa (in Finnish). MTV3. 2008-04-30. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
  8. ↑ "Konevika pysäytti Tallinkin Superstarin Suomenlahdelle". HS.fi (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  9. ↑ Filippov, Madis (2009-02-28). "Ulatuslik automaatikarike hoidis Superstari tunde Helsingi reidil" (in Estonian). Postimees. Retrieved 2009-02-28.

External links

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