The Estonian shipping line has signed a letter of intent with Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) covering the construction of a dual-fuel shuttle ferry for the Helsinki-Tallinn route.

The €250m-worth investment will see the delivery of the gas-run ferry, able to take on-board up to 2,800 passengers, in 2021. According to the parties, the project will provide approximately 1,500 man-years employment for the shipyard.

During the upcoming months, Tallink and RMC will work on finalizing the shipbuilding contract and financial arrangements.

"Tallink Grupp has put a great deal of resources and effort into developing the Tallinn-Helsinki route for decades. With the launch of the shuttle service over ten years ago, we have built a bridge between the two capitals, offering year-round frequent departures and thus bringing the two countries closer together. The next step on our journey is the continuous development and improvement of that service. Megastar was the first giant leap forward for us and the new ship will be a similarly momentous achievement," Paavo Nõgene, CEO, Tallink Grupp, commented.

He furthered, "We are also very happy to cooperate with a Finnish shipyard on this project, providing valuable man-hours of work and opportunities for several Estonian and Finnish companies and suppliers to benefit from this joint project."

Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO, Rauma Marine Constructions, added, "We are very pleased to announce that Rauma shipyard's shipbuilding tradition, together with Tallink, will continue with RMC's building of a new shuttle ship. It is a great honour to be signing a letter of intent with our old friends at Tallink who have always shown appreciation for the shipbuilding expertise in Rauma. This is an opportunity for us to utilize our longstanding experience and to help steer the ship traffic between Finland and Estonia in a more environmentally friendly direction."

Photo: Rauma Marine Constructions