Finnjet
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 3:40 pm
GTS Finnjet was a cruiseferry, built in 1977 by Wärtsilä Helsinki, Finland for Finnlines traffic between Finland and Germany. At the time of her delivery, Finnjet was the fastest, longest and largest car ferry in the world, and the only one powered by gas turbines. At the point of her scrapping in 2008, she remained the fastest conventional ferry in the world, with a recorded top speed of 33.5 knots (62.0 km/h).
The Finnjet's maiden voyage was originally scheduled to depart from Helsinki on 1 May 1977. However, this was delayed due to an engine officers' strike. Finally the ship left on her maiden voyage on 13 May 1977, after a final turbine test drive had been carried out on 12 May 1977.
Initially Finnjet was not a very profitable ship and after only a few years of service there were rumours that she would be sold. The ship had been ordered in the same year as the beginning of the 1973 oil crisis, which reached its peak around the time of the ship's launch. Yet another huge leap of the oil price occurred near the turn of the decade. To increase her profitability, the ship was converted to a combined diesel-electric and gas propulsion with the addition of diesel-electric generators in 1981 in Amsterdamse Droogdok Maatschappij, Amsterdam. The change allowed to operate the ship at slower speeds, using cheaper fuel during the winter months.
A year later 75% of Finnjet's shares were sold to Effoa (one of the owners of Silja Line), and Finnjet Line was established as a joint venture of Finnlines and Effoa to operate the Finnjet. Starting from November 1985, Finnjet made 24-hour backtracking cruises from Helsinki during the winter season. The final batch of these cruises in October–December 1995 included a short stop in Tallinn. In January 1986 another major renovation was carried out at Wärtsilä Helsinki, with new Commodore-class cabins added in place of the old sundeck. Shortly after the refit the Denmark-based DFDS made an offer to buy the Finnjet, but the offer was refused. Instead, in June of the same year Finnlines sold their remaining shares of the Finnjet to Effoa. In the beginning of 1987 the ship was painted in Silja Line's colors and incorporated in Silja's fleet. However, the technical responsibility for operating the Finnjet remained with Finnlines until May 1989.
After the ship had become a part of the Silja Line fleet, further renovations at Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Kiel (HDW) in 1987, 1988 and 1989 saw almost all of the ship's public spaces rebuilt. In 1990 Effoa merged with its fellow Silja Line partner Johnson Line to form EffJohn. In 1991 an extremely large-scale reconstruction was planned, where the ship would have been lengthened by 20 metres, cabins enlarged, a new outdoor swimming pool added, and much of the superstructure built to a sleeker appearance. Unfortunately the plan proved to be too costly and was abandoned.
Starting from 1992 Finnjet was used to monitor surface-layer chlorophyll, temperature and salinity in waters she sailed through for research by the Finnish Institute of Marine Research. A new transmission system installed in 1994 raised the top speed to 33 knots (61 km/h) and allowed for a mixed operation of turbines and diesel engines. In 1997 Finnjet was docked at Götaverken Cityvarvet, Gothenburg and rebuilt with a larger tax-free shop in preparation for her new itenaries where she served on the Helsinki — Travemünde route only during the summer months, the rest of the year sailing on the Helsinki — Tallinn route. Originally the port in Tallinn was Muuga, but when the ship-way of Tallinn's old harbour was reconstructed in 1998, Finnjet moved there from the start of January 1999.
In 1999 the summer-route was altered to Helsinki—Tallinn—Rostock. In autumn of the same year the Finnish Institute of Marine Research installed new equipment for monitoring water quality and algae. In 2001 the ship was docked with modifications made to the turbines and propeller shaft. These and a new bottom paint allowed her to increase her top speed once more, to 33.5 knots (62.0 km/h). In April 2004 Finnjet called in Helsinki for the last time, after which she left for another refit at Aker Finnyards, Rauma in preparation for her new Saint Petersburg—Tallinn—Rostock route. During the refit most of her interiors were entirely rebuilt, new rudders were installed and bridge wings covered. The new route was believed to be profitable all year round, but this proved not to be the case. After the first summer season Finnjet was laid up for the winter 2004/2005. The route was eventually terminated after the 2005 summer season, and the ship was put up for sale.
During the winter of 2005–2006, Finnjet was chartered to the faculty of medicine of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans to provide housing to students, faculty, and staff displaced by Hurricane Katrina. She was moored on the west bank of the Mississippi River across from Baton Rouge, at the base of the Horace Wilkinson Bridge.
On 6 June 2006, at the end of her charter, Finnjet left Baton Rouge for Freeport, in the Bahamas. At the same time her ownership passed from Silja Line to their parent company Sea Containers. The ship had all Silja Line markings painted over and was reflagged from Finnish to Bahamian registry.
On 21 November 2007 the ship was sold to Cruise Ship Holdings Four, a daughter company of the Holland-based Club Cruise. On 16 January 2008 she was officially renamed Da Vinci, and sailed to the T. Mariotti shipyard in Genoa, where she was to be rebuilt into a cruise ship. However, it turned out that the price of the conversion was much higher than anticipated, and as a result Da Vinci was sold for scrap in May 2008. On 6 May 2008 she left Genoa for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where she was turned over to her new owners in mid-May.The ship was then renamed MV Kingdom.
The ship arrived at the scrapyard in Alang, India on Friday, 13 June 2008. On Thursday, 19 June the ship was beached at Plot 109 of the Alang scrapyard. Although partially beached, scrapping did not start immediately, when an international lobby group initiated by former Finnjet passenger Risto Kempas managed to negotiate a halt into the breaking at the Rishi Ship Breaker's facility. The fine overall condition of the vessel had impressed the breaker into considering of the ship having more value if returned to traffic. Several parties then searched for potential buyers and the work culminated into a Finnish ship operator sending a three-man team to inspect Finnjet during the August of that year. The team discovered only loose items such as matresses, fridges, television sets and furniture had been removed from the ship, along with some consoles in accordance to Indian laws. However, the damp Indian climate had encrusted Finnjet completely with mold in just three months. She had become unsalvageable for the potential buyers and full breaking was initiated on 12 September 2008.
In spring of 2009, the breaker went on record for the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat of the breaking being more expensive than the scrapping value. Finnjet's thick steel (Rautaruukki NVA-36) icebreaker hull with double bottom, excessively strong bulkheads and reinforced fire-proofed compartments turned out to be a nightmare for the breaker. On September 2009 the remains of Finnjet still stood on plot 109.
Various web sites
The Finnjet's maiden voyage was originally scheduled to depart from Helsinki on 1 May 1977. However, this was delayed due to an engine officers' strike. Finally the ship left on her maiden voyage on 13 May 1977, after a final turbine test drive had been carried out on 12 May 1977.
Initially Finnjet was not a very profitable ship and after only a few years of service there were rumours that she would be sold. The ship had been ordered in the same year as the beginning of the 1973 oil crisis, which reached its peak around the time of the ship's launch. Yet another huge leap of the oil price occurred near the turn of the decade. To increase her profitability, the ship was converted to a combined diesel-electric and gas propulsion with the addition of diesel-electric generators in 1981 in Amsterdamse Droogdok Maatschappij, Amsterdam. The change allowed to operate the ship at slower speeds, using cheaper fuel during the winter months.
A year later 75% of Finnjet's shares were sold to Effoa (one of the owners of Silja Line), and Finnjet Line was established as a joint venture of Finnlines and Effoa to operate the Finnjet. Starting from November 1985, Finnjet made 24-hour backtracking cruises from Helsinki during the winter season. The final batch of these cruises in October–December 1995 included a short stop in Tallinn. In January 1986 another major renovation was carried out at Wärtsilä Helsinki, with new Commodore-class cabins added in place of the old sundeck. Shortly after the refit the Denmark-based DFDS made an offer to buy the Finnjet, but the offer was refused. Instead, in June of the same year Finnlines sold their remaining shares of the Finnjet to Effoa. In the beginning of 1987 the ship was painted in Silja Line's colors and incorporated in Silja's fleet. However, the technical responsibility for operating the Finnjet remained with Finnlines until May 1989.
After the ship had become a part of the Silja Line fleet, further renovations at Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Kiel (HDW) in 1987, 1988 and 1989 saw almost all of the ship's public spaces rebuilt. In 1990 Effoa merged with its fellow Silja Line partner Johnson Line to form EffJohn. In 1991 an extremely large-scale reconstruction was planned, where the ship would have been lengthened by 20 metres, cabins enlarged, a new outdoor swimming pool added, and much of the superstructure built to a sleeker appearance. Unfortunately the plan proved to be too costly and was abandoned.
Starting from 1992 Finnjet was used to monitor surface-layer chlorophyll, temperature and salinity in waters she sailed through for research by the Finnish Institute of Marine Research. A new transmission system installed in 1994 raised the top speed to 33 knots (61 km/h) and allowed for a mixed operation of turbines and diesel engines. In 1997 Finnjet was docked at Götaverken Cityvarvet, Gothenburg and rebuilt with a larger tax-free shop in preparation for her new itenaries where she served on the Helsinki — Travemünde route only during the summer months, the rest of the year sailing on the Helsinki — Tallinn route. Originally the port in Tallinn was Muuga, but when the ship-way of Tallinn's old harbour was reconstructed in 1998, Finnjet moved there from the start of January 1999.
In 1999 the summer-route was altered to Helsinki—Tallinn—Rostock. In autumn of the same year the Finnish Institute of Marine Research installed new equipment for monitoring water quality and algae. In 2001 the ship was docked with modifications made to the turbines and propeller shaft. These and a new bottom paint allowed her to increase her top speed once more, to 33.5 knots (62.0 km/h). In April 2004 Finnjet called in Helsinki for the last time, after which she left for another refit at Aker Finnyards, Rauma in preparation for her new Saint Petersburg—Tallinn—Rostock route. During the refit most of her interiors were entirely rebuilt, new rudders were installed and bridge wings covered. The new route was believed to be profitable all year round, but this proved not to be the case. After the first summer season Finnjet was laid up for the winter 2004/2005. The route was eventually terminated after the 2005 summer season, and the ship was put up for sale.
During the winter of 2005–2006, Finnjet was chartered to the faculty of medicine of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans to provide housing to students, faculty, and staff displaced by Hurricane Katrina. She was moored on the west bank of the Mississippi River across from Baton Rouge, at the base of the Horace Wilkinson Bridge.
On 6 June 2006, at the end of her charter, Finnjet left Baton Rouge for Freeport, in the Bahamas. At the same time her ownership passed from Silja Line to their parent company Sea Containers. The ship had all Silja Line markings painted over and was reflagged from Finnish to Bahamian registry.
On 21 November 2007 the ship was sold to Cruise Ship Holdings Four, a daughter company of the Holland-based Club Cruise. On 16 January 2008 she was officially renamed Da Vinci, and sailed to the T. Mariotti shipyard in Genoa, where she was to be rebuilt into a cruise ship. However, it turned out that the price of the conversion was much higher than anticipated, and as a result Da Vinci was sold for scrap in May 2008. On 6 May 2008 she left Genoa for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where she was turned over to her new owners in mid-May.The ship was then renamed MV Kingdom.
The ship arrived at the scrapyard in Alang, India on Friday, 13 June 2008. On Thursday, 19 June the ship was beached at Plot 109 of the Alang scrapyard. Although partially beached, scrapping did not start immediately, when an international lobby group initiated by former Finnjet passenger Risto Kempas managed to negotiate a halt into the breaking at the Rishi Ship Breaker's facility. The fine overall condition of the vessel had impressed the breaker into considering of the ship having more value if returned to traffic. Several parties then searched for potential buyers and the work culminated into a Finnish ship operator sending a three-man team to inspect Finnjet during the August of that year. The team discovered only loose items such as matresses, fridges, television sets and furniture had been removed from the ship, along with some consoles in accordance to Indian laws. However, the damp Indian climate had encrusted Finnjet completely with mold in just three months. She had become unsalvageable for the potential buyers and full breaking was initiated on 12 September 2008.
In spring of 2009, the breaker went on record for the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat of the breaking being more expensive than the scrapping value. Finnjet's thick steel (Rautaruukki NVA-36) icebreaker hull with double bottom, excessively strong bulkheads and reinforced fire-proofed compartments turned out to be a nightmare for the breaker. On September 2009 the remains of Finnjet still stood on plot 109.
Various web sites