Tallink takes delivery of LNG-fuelled ferry Megastar from Meyer Turku Shipyard

LNG Fast Ferry Megastar was delivered to Tallink from Meyer Turku Shipyard on January 24, 2017 according to the schedule. Megastar will set a new standard for ferries on HelsinkiTallinn route by customer comfort and environmentally friendly technical sophistication, the shipbuilder said Tuesday in a press release.

When Megastar starts operation on the 29th of January 2017, travelling between Helsinki and Tallinn, she will be the most advanced fast ferry in the Baltic Sea. Megastar is not just powered by environmentally friendly LNG (liquefied natural gas), but the ship also has an extremely advanced hull shape resulting in substantial fuel savings during the ship’s
operation.

Tallink Grupp CEO Janek Stalmeister explains the full vision for their 230-million euro investment:
“Connecting Finland and Estonia, and even further – Northern Europe to the Baltic States and being the preferred hub for that is an important goal for us. With Megastar, this hub becomes the most modern sea-hub in the region. At Tallink we have been researching what our customers want in a next generation ferry. Then we worked closely with Meyer Turku on a fresh and functional design of the ship and I am sure the outcome will please all our customers. We are very thankful to Meyer Turku for listening carefully to our wishes and building an excellent ship for us.

Delivering this ship full of latest environmentally friendly technologies and exceeding our expectations in fuel efficiency and increased comfort level with low vibrations Megastar nicely demonstrates the excellence and quality of Meyer Turku and Finnish shipbuilding.”

Meyer Turku CEO Jan Meyer reminds that the construction of Megastar has been a multidisciplinary effort taking almost two years to finish:

“We started Megastar by imagining how a new design can again bring a next level of improvements to ferry operation. It follows over a year of design work that is closely linked and partly overlapping with the pre-production, assembly, fine-tuning and testing the ship. Yet the big moment of hard truth comes in the end, when we are delivering one large and sophisticated ship, like we did today with Tallink Megastar – a product of great team work that is bigger than all the individual efforts.
We thank Tallink for their trust in us and for the good collaboration. I also thank all those who built the ship: our shipbuilding team in Turku and our many specialized suppliers.”

Megastar offers 3 travel classes, the standard or Star class, upgraded Comfort class and Business class, but for the first time, there are 2 separate lounges also for the standard class – Sitting lounge and Driver`s lounge for cargo drivers. There are seven different restaurants and cafés on board Megastar, including a buffet restaurant, a la carte restaurant, fast food restaurant and cafés. Also pubs and bars are located on the new ship. A children`s playground is there for passengers travelling with their young family members. Traveller Superstore boosts 2800 square meters of shopping area through two decks.

The Megastar will also increase the standard for car passengers. Double level loading and wider car deck access will improve the loading and unloading time. Supermarket type of parking garage accessible during the voyage will add convenience to travelers who take advantages of the Megastar’s shopping possibilities.

Megastar is 212 meters long and will take onboard 2800 passengers. Her service speed is 27 knots. Megastar uses LNG as fuel, but is also able to run on marine diesel. With LNG, her environmental performance will improve much by creating no Sulphur or soot particles and decreasing the Nitrogen and CO2 emissions. Designed for the Tallinn-Helsinki route exclusively, Megastar will comply with the current and future emission regulations for the ECAs (Emission Control Area), including the Baltic Sea. Megastar is co-financed by European Union, the Connecting Europe Facility, Transport – Motorways of the sea.

The next generation architecture of LNG fast passenger ferry Megastar will be presented to the public on the 27th of January 2017 in Tallinn.