Finnish Viking Line, Chinese Xiamen Shipbuilding Sign LNG Vessel Deal

Finish ferry company Viking Line November 23 said it has signed a letter of intent with Chinese Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry concerning an order for a passenger vessel that would run on LNG. The vessel is expected to be delivered in 2018.

The two parties are looking to sign a final agreement during the spring of 2017. The total investment is about €190mn ($202mn). The letter of intent also includes an option for an additional vessel, Viking said.

A Viking Line vessel (Credit: Viking Line)

The vessel is intended to be a collaborative project, and the plan is to engage several Finnish and other European suppliers, including Deltamarin, Wartsila and ABB Marine. The new vessel is planned to serve the Turku (Finland)-Åland Islands (Finland)-Stockholm (Sweden) route. The vessel will be 218 metres in length and have a gross registered tonnage of 63,000 metric tons. Passenger capacity will be 2,800 people, and the length of its cargo lanes will be 1,500 metres.

Viking already runs Viking Grace, the first large LNG-powered passenger vessel in the world.

Shardul Sharma