Silja Europe

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Silja Europe
The Silja Europa near Mariehamn, 2005
The Silja Europa near Mariehamn, 2005
Ship data
flag EstoniaEstonia Estonia
other ship names
  • Europe
Ship type ferry
Callsign ESUJ
home port Tallinn
Owner Tallink Autoexpress Ltd., Cyprus (Tallink Grupp AS, Tallinn)
Shipyard Meyer shipyard , Papenburg
Build number 627
Keel laying December 6, 1991
baptism March 5, 1993
Launch January 23, 1993
takeover March 5, 1993
Whereabouts In service
Ship dimensions and crew
length
201.78 m ( Lüa )
171.60 m ( Lpp )
width 32.00 m
Draft Max. 6.80 m
measurement 59,912 GT / 41,248 NRZ
Machine system
machine 4 × MAN B&W diesel engine (6L58 / 64)
Machine
performanceTemplate: Infobox ship / maintenance / service format 		31,800 kW (43,236 hp)
Top
speed 		21.5 kn (40 km / h)
propeller 2 × controllable pitch propellers
Transport capacities
Load capacity 4,650 dw
running track meters 950 m
Permitted number of passengers 3,013
Pax cabins 1,152
Vehicle capacity 340 cars
Others
Classifications Bureau Veritas
Registration
numbers 		IMO no. 8919805

The Silja Europa is a ferry operated by the Estonian shipping company Tallink .

With a measurement of 59,912 GT, the Silja Europa was the largest ferry in the world at the time of its commissioning in 1993. In the meantime, it has been surpassed in this point by the Color Magic, which is again significantly larger at around 75,100 GT . The Silja Europa was built by the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg and is an ice class 1A Super ship.

history

Construction and commissioning

It was commissioned as Europe by Rederi AB Slite, one of the shipping companies of the Viking Line shipping group at the time .

Unloading through the tailgate

However, the jumbo ferry, some of which was even painted in Viking Line colors, was no longer taken over. The falling exchange rate of the Swedish krona in 1992 made the ship for Rederi AB Slite suddenly more expensive by 500 million Swedish kronor.

When the shipping company also lost a loan guarantee from its bank, it could no longer pay for the ferry and finally went bankrupt in 1993 . On February 23, 1993 the ship was transferred to Emden via the Ems. Meyer-Werft completed the ship under construction and registered it from March 5, 1993 on the ferry Europa KB, which was founded especially for this purpose and is based in Mariehamn , Finland, a subsidiary of Papenburger Fährschiffsreederei GmbH, in which Meyer- Shipyard is involved. The ship was christened in Hamburg on the same day . The ferry Europa KB chartered the ferry from March 6, 1993 to the Viking Line competitor Silja Line as part of a long-term charter with an option to buy.

Use in the Baltic Sea

Since then, the Silja Europa has been used in the Baltic Sea ferry service, initially between Helsinki and Stockholm , from 1995 on the Turku – Stockholm route via Mariehamn / Långnäs . The regular stopover in Åland (Mariehamn and Långnäs) not only had logistical reasons, but was also important from a tax point of view: Only with this stopover is the shipping company allowed to sell goods on board tax-free.

When the Estonia sank in September 1994, the Silja Europa was the first ship to receive the emergency call from the sinking ship. The then captain Esa Mäkelä then led the initial rescue operation, in which ten ships from the immediate vicinity of the accident site were involved.

After almost 18 years in liner service between Stockholm and Turku, the Silja Europa was replaced by the Baltic Princess on January 20, 2013 after her last voyage on this route . From January 23, 2013, the ferry operated under the Estonian flag between Helsinki and its home port, Tallinn .

Hotel ship in Australia

On July 21, 2014, Tallink Silja Oy announced that it would sell Silja Europa to Bridgemanns Services Ltd. for 14 months from August. chartered to Australia, where it served as floating accommodation. The shipping company justified the move with stricter emission limits from 2015. The charter could be extended to up to 48 months, but this option was not taken.

Again use in the Baltic Sea

Tallink has been using the ship on the Tallinn - Helsinki route since March 13, 2016.

Furnishing

On the Silja Europa there are numerous establishments such as bars , restaurants , discotheques , theaters and a swimming pool with sauna . From 1993 to 1996 it also included the world's first McDonald’s branch on the high seas.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.onnettomuustutkinta.fi/uploads/54begu60narbnv.pdf
  2. ↑ Timetable Stockholm – Turku ( Memento of September 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), accessed October 29, 2011
  3. ↑ Silja Europa ( Memento from September 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on July 31, 2013
  4. ↑ The Silja Europa: A ship with history. In: Cruise pilot. December 9, 2019, accessed on August 5, 2020 (German).
  5. ↑ http://majandus24.postimees.ee/2862959/tallink-prahib-silja-europa-austraaliasse , accessed on July 21, 2014
  6. ↑ Silja Europa returns to Tallink in January. December 22, 2015, accessed December 23, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Tallink Silja: Renovated Silja Europe again on the Tallinn-Helsinki route. March 15, 2016, accessed March 15, 2016 .
  8. ↑ TALLINK BRINGS THE RENEWED SILJA EUROPE BACK TO TALLINN-HELSINKI ROUTE. January 20, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016 .

Web links

Commons : Silja Europa  - Collection of Images