Finland’s Viking Line has picked Xiamen Shipbuilding to build its new EUR 190m ($201.5m) ro-pax.
A letter of intent has been signed with the Chinese yard for delivery in spring 2020. A final contract should be inked early next year.
There is an optional ship attached to the deal.
Viking will also involve designers and suppliers like Deltamarin, Wartsila and ABB Marine, among others.
The 218-metre, 63,000-gt ferry will run between Turku and the Aland Islands in Finland and Stockholm in Sweden.
It will carry 2,800 people and have 1,500 lane metres for vehicles.
“Our intention is for the vessel to run on liquefied natural gas,” said CEO Jan Hanses.
“Many years of planning work have gone into this newbuilding project in conjunction with the European Union’s Motorways of the Seas project under the scope of the Connecting Europe Facility funding instrument, which has also included the Port of Turku and the Ports of Stockholm.”
TradeWinds reported last week the order was most likely set for an overseas yard, as busy domestic passengership specialist Meyer Turku only had delivery dates available after 2021/2022.
Viking had wanted the ship for 2019.
