Valmet has announced that it will supply automation and information systems for two luxury expedition vessels built by Helsinki Shipyard in Finland. The vessels will be delivered to Russia’s largest river cruise company Vodohod, and they will operate both in the Arctic and Antarctic waters as well as in the tropical waters during the spring and fall seasons.

The automation solutions will be delivered to the vessels in August 2021 and handed over to the customer in November 2021. The value of the order was not disclosed.

The 113-meter-long and 20.2-meter-wide vessels will have an ice class of PC5 and a passenger capacity of 157 persons. Their draught is 5.7 meters, and cruising speed is 14 knots.

“To ensure safe operation of the vessels, we have selected Valmet’s automation. We have a long and trustworthy relationship with Valmet,” commented Unto Ryynänen, manager of the Electrical Design Department, Helsinki Shipyard.

“The Valmet DNA marine automation system is reliable and tailor-made for harsh conditions in extreme environments,” added Heikki Tanner, sales manager, Process Industry Sales, Automation, Valmet.

The order includes the Valmet DNA automation system, an information management system, project engineering, factory acceptance testing, commissioning and training.

Helsinki Shipyard has long experience in designing and building passenger and cruise vessels, and is also known for icebreakers and other special vessels for arctic conditions.

Vodohod is a Russian cruise company and river cruise line operator. It operates more than 50 passenger vessels along the Volga, Don and Kama rivers, the Moscow and Volga-Don canals, the Volga-Baltic Waterway, Northwestern rivers as well as in the Ladoga and Onega lakes.