As expected, Wasaline's new ro-pax will be built in Finland © RMC

Kvarken Link signs LoI with RMC for EUR 120 million hybrid gas-powered ro-pax

FerryKvarken Link has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Finnish shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) for the construction of an 800-passenger and 1,500-lanemetre capacity ro-pax ferry for the Bothnian Gulf route between Vaasa and Umeå.

The formal contract is expected to be signed in one of the next months with design and construction work set to start immediately thereafter which means that the ship will be built prior to the new Tallinn-Helsinki Tallink Shuttle ferry for which an LoI was signed in October 2018. Delivery is scheduled for April 2021 at the latest.

The newbuild will be designed to be environmentally friendly, with a machinery running on a dual fuel and battery solution connected to azimuth thrusters. The main source of fuel will be LNG, but the ice class 1A Super ro-pax will likely also bunker biogas produced in Vaasa.

Commenting on the LoI, Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO of RMC said: "RMC won the public international tender thanks to our expert knowledge and technology. RMC specialises in the design and construction of car and passenger ferries. We are therefore both pleased and proud to have showcased our competence in this area. We are also very grateful for the confidence that the customer has shown in RMC, having commissioned this ferry from us." The project will total around 800 person-years.

RMC has seen rapid growth – in August 2018 the Rauma-based shipyard delivered the 18,009gt ro-pax ferry HAMMERSHUS. In October LoIs were signed for an EUR 250 million, 2,800-passenger ro-pax that is a further evolution of Tallink's MEGASTAR as well as four combat vessels that are part of the Squadron2020 project. In addition, RMC is currently building blocks for a cruise ship under construction at Meyer Turku.

Due to the increasing workload, RMC has actively been recruiting new workforce for the shipyard. The recruitment efforts will continue in the near future, with the aim being to recruit both nationally as well as internationally.

Kvarken Link is owned by the city of Umeå and the city of Vaasa, both of whom serve as guarantors of the financing. The single-ship route is operated under the Wasaline banner. The double freight deck newbuilding will replace the 1981-built WASA EXPRESS which has a capacity of 850 passengers and 1,150 lanemetres.

Jan 11 2019