Finnish shipping company Viking Line has welcomed its climate-smart flagship Viking Glory in the Port of Turku following the ship’s five-week journey home across the seas.
According to the company’s update, the voyage has gone well and the Viking Glory’s arrival was celebrated on Sunday, 6 February.
The LNG-fueled ferry is 222.6 metres long with a gross tonnage of 66,813 tonnes and a cargo capacity of 1,500 metres and is expected to increase Viking Line’s passenger capacity on the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route by about 10%.
As disclosed, after the welcome ceremony, the vessel will be outfitted in port over a period of three weeks. The new vessel will launch service on the route on March 1.
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Anticipating Glory’s arrival, Viking Line’s president and CEO, Jan Hanses , said: “The Turku route is very important for Viking Line as well as for passenger and cargo service between Finland and Sweden. We are extremely proud that we once again can take a vessel that represents the very latest in new advances to Turku – one that both improves the level of service on the route and reduces the environmental impact. There is great interest in Glory, and sales have gotten off to a really good start “.
Constructed at China’s XSI shipyard as the first ship in the world to be equipped with Wärtsilä 31DF dual-fuel engines, Viking Glory will fly the Finnish flag.
The ship is a part of a Finnish-Swedish EU project, aiming to promote green and efficient maritime transport and give another push to maritime decarbonisation.
To remind, Viking Glory was launched in January 2021 while the testing of the Azipod propulsion system took place in June 2021. The cool-down of the LNG tanks and the first LNG bunkering, readying the ferry for the first test sailings, was also scheduled to take place in June.
Video source: Viking Line
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