Viking Line plc, the Finnish cruise ferry operator, said it hass signed a letter of intent with Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry Co. Ltd in China concerning an order for a 63,000 gross ton cruise ferry to be delivered in the spring of 2020.
“The aim is to sign a final agreement during the spring of 2017. The total investment is about €190 million euros. The letter of intent also includes an option for an additional vessel. The vessel is intended to be a collaborative project, and the plan is to engage a number of Finnish and other European suppliers, including Deltamarin, Wärtsilä and ABB Marine as well as a number of others,” the company said in a statement.
The new vessel is planned to serve the 10 hour crossing between Turku (Finland)-Åland Islands (Finland)-Stockholm (Sweden) and it will be 218 metres in length and have a gross registered tonnage of 63,000. Passenger capacity will be 2,800 and the length of its cargo lanes will be 1,500 metres. Viking Line will hire Scandinavian architects for the interior design, the company said.
This is the first cruise ferry type vessel with emphasis on high quality passenger accommodation that will be built in China for a customer in the west.