Finnlines plans to lengthen two more Ro-Ro ships

Finnlines’ EUR 70 million Energy Efficiency and Emission Reduction Investment Programme was launched with the lengthening of four vessels in 2017, with an option of additional two. Finnlines has now decided to exercise the option for the lengthening of the two additional vessels.

The first two vessels, MS Finntide and MS Finnwave, have already been operating in their extended length. By the end of May 2018, a further two vessels, MS Finnsky and MS Finnsun, will be lengthened, whilst MS Finnbreeze and MS Finnsea will be carried out in September-December 2018.

Each lengthened vessel will have a capacity increase of some 30%. After the modification the vessel is 217.7 metres long and has a capacity of around 4,200 lane metres.

“These two lengthened vessels in addition to the previous four, will help us meet increased demand and enable us to serve our customers more efficiently. One of our strategic decisions is to focus on improving our operational performance. This decision to lengthen another two vessels will help us to increase competitiveness and improve efficiency of capital employed on our fleet. This investment is also in line with sustainable development: by increasing our energy efficiency further we will contribute to reducing emissions per transported tonne”, says Tom Pippingsköld, CFO of Finnlines.

Finnlines is a leading shipping operator of ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. The Company is a part of the Grimaldi Group, one of the world’s largest operators of ro-ro vessels and the largest operator of the Motorways of the Sea in Europe for both passengers and freight. This affiliation enables Finnlines to offer liner services to and from any destination in the Mediterranean, West Africa as well as the Atlantic coast of both North and South America.