Grimaldi’s roro and passenger company Finnlines has signed an order for two ro-pax vessels with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai), previously known as AVIC Weihai.
Finnlines has been outspoken about its plans to grow its fleet for quite a while now in order to meet its passenger business growth.
Called the Superstar ro-pax vessels, they are expected to be delivered by 2023 and will be Finnlines’ flagships both in terms of size and technology.
With a length of about 230 metres, they will be larger than the existing Star class vessels, and their loading capacity will be for 5,100 lane metres for rolling freight and around 1,100 passengers.
The vessels will have the highest Finnish / Swedish ice class.
As indicated earlier, the order is expected to ensure Finnlines remains “a forerunner in sustainable development for both passenger and cargo transports within the Baltic Sea.”
“ We want to provide a high-quality service to our customers respecting all aspects of the environmental matters. This investment aims at energy efficiency and emission reduction, but at the same time, it is an investment for the highest passenger comfort. We want to lead the development of high-quality ro-ro and ro-pax services in the Baltic Sea region. Our ongoing EUR 500 million newbuilding programme will ensure that we continue to provide premium services to our customers ”, says Emanuele Grimaldi, CEO of Finnlines.
The order comes on the back of a contract for three hybrid sto/ro ultra large green vessels with Jinling Shipyard back in 2018.
Finnlines is part of the Italian Grimaldi Group that operates a fleet of more than 120 vessels and serves over 120 ports in 50 countries.