Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) and Australia-based TT-Line have signed a memorandum of understanding for two fast car and passenger ferries
RMC chief executive Jyrki Heinimaa said “We are proud of the trust TT-Line Company has shown us. With this new partnership, we can provide a world-class car and passenger ferry solution for TT-Line Company’s business. Through this MoU, RMC can move forward on its planned growth path and can build more large car and passenger ferries in Rauma. This signifies a steady growth for the shipbuilding industry in Finland.”
The vessels will be built at Rauma shipyard with construction scheduled to start Q1 2021 and delivered to the customer in Tasmania, Australia, at the end of 2022 and 2023. The vessels, set to operate under the brand Spirit of Tasmania, will replace existing vessels Spirit of Tasmania I and II (ex. Superfast III and Superfast IV), built in Turku, Finland in 1998. The new ferries will accommodate 1,800 passengers and will have an approximate gross tonnage of 48,000. The ferries are set to operate in challenging conditions on the Melbourne, Australia to Devonport, Tasmania route.
“Building these vessels is a natural continuation to the similarly sized MyStar, which we are building for Tallink Grupp. During the next few months, TT-Line Company and RMC are working in close co-operation to finalise the contract for the construction of the vessels. The design of the vessels will begin later this year, with construction beginning in early 2021. They will be made side-by-side with the multi-role corvettes for the Finnish Navy,” said Mr Heinimaa.
RMC said it will strengthen its organisation and recruit more talent in all phases of the shipbuilding process. “On top of our own personnel, we will continuously strengthen our co-operation network. Our long-term partnerships cover diverse sectors of shipbuilding from designing to finishing,” emphasised Mr Heinimaa.
In February, RMC together with Wasaline, celebrated the keel laying of the Aurora Botnia car and passenger ferry. When completed, the vessel will operate between Vaasa and Umeå. Tallink’s new shuttleferry MyStar, which will operate between Helsinki and Tallin, will begin construction in April 2020 at the Rauma shipyard.
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