By
Alex Smith |
Rauma Marine Constructions has laid the keel of Tallink Grupp’s newest ferry MyStar at its shipyard in Rauma, Finland.
The traditional event was live streamed from the shipyard, with Tallink’s representatives participating virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Estonian and Finnish Euro coins were placed under the keel as the 270-tonne block was lowered into the dry dock.
“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,” said Paavo Nõgene, CEO of Tallink Grupp. “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 preserve jobs in Finland and Estonia, keeping the historic shipbuilding industry in Finland going and supporting and contributing to the economies of our Baltic Sea region as a whole.”
The construction of the LNG-powered ferry began on 6 April. It will be built with shore-to-ship power equipment and Tallink’s Smart Car Deck solution, which was developed in collaboration with Tallinn Technical University to enable faster and more convenient loading and unloading of the vessel.
“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,” said Jyrki Heinimaa, president and CEO of Rauma Marine Constructions. “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 is scheduled for delivery in January 2022.