A cruise ship that mainly operated 22 hour cruises from the Swedish capital Stockholm could be converted to a high end of the market expedition cruise ship, a media report says.

The 34,924 gross ton Birka that was built in 2004 has been laid up since early last year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the 1,800 passenger capacity ship that has Finnish/Swedish ice class 1 A Super, the highest on that scale, could be converted to a 600 passenger expedition cruise ship with relatively little work and hence low cost, a report on Alands Sjofart said.

The London based ship broker Clarkson Platou has valued the vessel at €82.8 million and a team from Rederi AB Eckero, the ship’s Finnish owner, has teamed up with Fosen Design to evaluate viability of the conversion.

The ship’s life saving equipment would have to be updated and the number of cabins should be reduced to 300 from the present 700 and balconies should be added to 215 that are in the superstructure, the report said.