Viking Line said it signed a conditional shipbuilding contract with Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry Co. to build a new cruise ferry for the Turku (Finland)–Åland Islands–Stockholm (Sweden) route, with delivery in 2020.
A final agreement is subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of both the buyer and the seller, as well as financial arrangements entered.
The total contract amount is about 194 million euros, the company said.
The agreement also includes an option on another vessel.
The new vessel will be a collaborative project, and the plan is to engage several Finnish and other European suppliers. This energy-efficient vessel will be 218 metres in length and have a gross registered tonnage of about 63,000 tonnes. Passenger capacity will be 2,800 people, and the length of its cargo lanes will be 1,500 metres. Environmental considerations and energy efficiency will be very important in planning and building the ship. Viking Line will hire Scandinavian architects for the interior design.
