Tallink Grupp has announced today that the keel laying of the company’s newest eco-friendly LNG-powered shuttle ferry MyStar is to be carried out today at the Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) shipyard in Rauma, Finland. The traditional keel laying event – in keeping with the global corona virus pandemic and the current precautionary measures – is conducted at 10.00 local Finnish time and live streamed from Rauma with Tallink Grupp’s representatives participating via the Internet.
The construction of the LNG-powered shuttle vessel MyStar began in Rauma earlier this year on 6 April, and the delivery of the vessel is planned for January 2022. Upon completion and delivery in January 2022, MyStar will operate on the company’s Tallinn-Helsinki route, connecting the twin capitals of Estonia and Finland.
MyStar is another important step for Tallink Grupp towards achieving greater energy efficiency and eco-friendliness for its shipping operations on the Baltic Sea. The LNG-powered new shuttle vessel comes with the latest cutting-edge technology and innovation onboard and will meet all the current and known future emission regulations.
Laying down the keel is an important milestone in shipbuilding, often considered the birth of the ship. During the event, the first keel-block of MyStar, weighing approximately 270 tonnes, is laid into Rauma shipyard’s dry dock. Traditionally, lucky coins are placed under the keel during the event, which this time include both Estonian and Finnish Euro coins.
Commenting on the MyStar keel-laying, the CEO of Tallink Grupp, Paavo Nõgene, said:
- „It is extremely important to keep our sights both on the near as well as the more distant future right now and continue with key projects that will ensure shipping is greener, more efficient and increasingly sustainable in the future.“
- „With the MyStar project, we are proud and happy to be able to help sustain the rich tradition of Finnish shipbuilding. Now more than ever, it matters to us that we can build our ship close to home in Finland, and this way, help preserve jobs in Finland and Estonia, to keep the historic shipbuilding industry in Finland going and support and contribute to the economies of our Baltic Sea region as a whole.“
Jyrki Heinimaa, President and CEO of RMC added:
- “Despite the challenging economic situation and the global coronavirus pandemic, we are pleased that the MyStar production is continuing in Rauma shipyard as planned and the shipbuilding project will provide over 1,500 person-years of employment for the Rauma shipyard.”
“The delivery of the main equipment of MyStar is proceeding according to schedule. During the summer the vessel’s main engines were tested, with tests completed on the generators this autumn.”
“Although the final impacts of the pandemic on the operations of the shipyard are yet to be seen, we are confident that operations will continue on track due to all the health and safety measures we have undertaken.”
MyStar will be built with shore-to-ship green power equipment as well as the Smart Car Deck solution, developed in cooperation with Tallinn Technical University (TalTech), which will enable even faster and more convenient loading and unloading of the vessel and is compatible with the already existing Smart Port solution at the Port of Tallinn.
Following the keel-laying, the next big milestone - launching and christening of the vessel will take place in the summer of 2021.
AS Tallink Grupp is one of the leading providers of passenger transport and cargo transport services in the northern part of the Baltic Sea region. The company owns 15 vessels and operates several ferry routes under the brand names of Tallink and Silja Line. AS Tallink Grupp employs around 6,000 people in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Russia and Germany. In 2019, Tallink Grupp provided services to 9.8 million travellers and transported approximately 380,000 freight units of goods. The shares of Tallink Grupp are listed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange.
Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC), founded in 2014, is a Finnish fully domestically-owned shipbuilding company, that represents the strong Finnish traditions in the industry. RMC is specialised in ship construction and maintenance, including construction and maintenance of icebreakers, car and passenger ferries, and vessels for use by the armed forces. The company represents world-leading expertise in Arctic shipbuilding, an area heavily relied upon by the knowhow and competitiveness of the Finnish marine industry.