MS Silja Europa

MS Silja Europa, owned and operated by Tallink, is one of the largest cruiseferries in the world. She was built at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany for the Swedish ferry operator Rederi AB Slite, a part of Viking Line. The main architect was Per Dockson.

"M/S Europa" redirects here. For other ships named "Europa", see Europa (disambiguation).
History
Name: Silja Europa
Owner:
Operator:
Port of registry:
Ordered: 6 October 1989
Builder: Meyer Werft, Papenburg, West Germany
Yard number: 627
Laid down: 6 November 1991
Launched: 23 January 1993
Christened: 5 March 1993
Completed: 6 March 1993
Maiden voyage: 13 March 1993
In service: 1993–present
Refit:

(2014) Bridgeman

(2016) Tallink
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Type: Cruiseferry
Tonnage: 59,914 GT
Length: 201.8 m (662 ft 1 in)
Beam: 32.5 m (106 ft 8 in)
Draught: 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in)
Ice class: 1 A Super
Installed power:
  • 4 × MAN 6L58/64
  • 31,800 kW (combined)
Propulsion: Two shafts; controllable pitch propellers
Speed: 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Capacity:
  • 3,013 passengers
  • 3,644 passenger beds
  • 400 vehicles (932 lane meters)

Just before she was due for delivery, Slite entered economic difficulties and could no longer afford the ship, so Meyer Werft kept her and she was soon chartered to Viking Line's rival, Silja Line. She was put on the Helsinki–Stockholm route, replacing MS Silja Serenade which was put to the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route, but the two ships swapped routes with each other again in 1995.

History
MS Europa as she would have appeared in Viking Line's colors, circa 1992

MS Silja Europa was commissioned by Rederi AB Slite and launched on 23 January 1993. As a result of the 1990-1994 Swedish financial crisis, the Swedish krona was floated in 1992 and consequently lost value. The Europa became kr 500,000,000 more expensive for Slite, whose bank, Nordbanken, had stopped guaranteeing loans. Combined with the construction of other ships, Slite was declared bankrupt in April 1993.

She was christened the Silja Europa in Hamburg, Germany on 5 March 1993, then registered the next day to Fährschiff Europa KB. With a ten-year charter to Finnish cruisferry company Silja Line, Silja Europa made her maiden voyage on 14 March 1993.

On 28 September 1994. Silja Europa was the first vessel to receive the Mayday message from the sinking MS Estonia, and became the second vessel to arrive on-scene (after MS Mariella) following Estonia's capsizing and sinking. The captain of Silja Europa, Esa Mäkelä, was appointed On-Scene Commander for the rescue operation.

In January 2000, a catalytic converter was installed at Aker Finnyards in Rauma. The funnel received a new blue paintjob, and the ship's safety system was renewed.

Silja Line was sold to Estonian shipping company Tallink in May 2006 - the Silja Line brand was initially kept separate, but most of its ships (including the Silja Europa) are now in Tallink livery. Silja Europa's home port was changed to Tallinn and entered Tallink's Helsinki–Tallinn service on 23 January 2013.[1] She was then sailed to Australia on a 14-month charter as an accommodation ship for the Gorgon LNG project at Barrow Island.[2] After this charter, Tallink returned Silja Europa to their Helsinki-Tallinn service on 13 March 2016.[3]

MS Silja Europa, in Tallink livery, in Tallinn, 2017

Accidents and incidents
  • 13 January 1995 - Silja Europa ran aground close to Furusund, Sweden, due to a failure in the automatic speed control system. She continued under her own power to Stockholm, where she was taken out of service and then delivered to Naantali for repair.
  • 10 October 1996 - A passenger reported that he saw someone jumping overboard. This was reported to the captain, who notified the Swedish Coast Guard - however, instead of stopping the ship (as is procedure), he continued to Stockholm. Later, the Swedish Coast Guard found the person, a female passenger, in the sea. Her body temperature was very low and she died a couple of days later in hospital of hypothermia. The ship's captain was prosecuted and found guilty of not stopping as he should have, but was not punished.
  • 20 August 1997 - The ship collided with a German sailing-boat south of Lemland due to heavy fog. A German couple and their dog were rescued by one of Silja Europa's lifeboats. The sailing boat began to take on water and was later towed to Föglö by the Finnish Border Guard.
  • 28 September 2002 - A female passenger fell overboard and swam to a nearby islet, from where she was later rescued

See also
  • Largest ferries of Europe

References
  1. "Silja Europa flyttar till Tallinntrafiken". Svenska YLE. 2012-11-08.
  2. "Silja Europa hyrs ut till Australien" (in Swedish). YLE. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  3. http://www.tallinksilja.fi/14.3.2016-uudistunut-silja-europa-palasi-helsinki-tallinna-reitille
Preceded by
MS Silja Symphony		 World's Largest Cruiseferry
1993–2001		 Succeeded by
MS Pride of Rotterdam
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