The ''Star'' class is a class of five

Ro-pax Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

built by

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

at their

Castellammare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; nap, Castiellammare 'e Stabbia) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History ...

and

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

shipyards for

Finnlines Finnlines Plc ( fi, Finnlines Oyj, sv, Finnlines Abp) is a shipping operator of ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. It is a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group. Finnlines’ sea transports are concentrated in the Bal ...

. They are used on Finnlines' routes connecting

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

to Germany. Most ships of this class were delivered behind original planned schedule.

MS ''Finnstar''

MS ''Finnstar'' was the first Star-class ship to be completed. The ship was built at Fincantieri's Castellammare di Stabia yard. She was delivered to Finnlines in July 2006 (original planned delivery date was in late 2005)Fincantieri press release reprinted at FCBS forum
retrieved 12/4/2007 and the class takes its name from this ship. She is used on the

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

–

Travemünde Travemünde () is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Bay of Lübeck, Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, an ...

route. During construction a small fire broke out on board the ship in November 2005, but it was quickly extinguished. The ''Finnstar'' was registered in Helsinki, Finland but as of November 2014 ''Finnstar'' was re-registered to Mariehamn.

MS ''Finnmaid''

MS ''Finnmaid'' was built at Fincantieri's Ancona shipyard, and is used on the Helsinki–Travemünde route. She was delivered in August 2006. Immediately after the first Travemünde–Helsinki trip the ship was forced to

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

due to problems with her bow thrusters. On 4 January 2007, a small fire broke out on board while the ship was docked in Helsinki, that seems to have originated, and been contained to one of the bilge pumps on board. The ''Finnmaid'' is registered in Helsinki, Finland.

MS ''Finnlady''

The ship currently sailing under the name MS ''Finnlady'' was originally laid down as MS ''Europalink'', but due to delays in construction of the original ''Finnlady'' Finnlines decided to swap the names of the ships. She was built at Fincantieri's Ancona shipyard and delivered in February 2007 (original planned delivery date was in October 2006). She is used on the Helsinki–Travemünde route. The ''Finnlady'' is registered in Helsinki, Finland.

MS ''Europalink''

MS ''Europalink'' was originally planned to be called MS ''Finnlady'', but delays in construction made Finnlines swap the names of the two ships. She was built at the Castellammare di Stabia shipyard, and her original delivery date was planned to be in mid-2006, but eventually she was delivered in March 2007 and used on Finnlines Nordö-Link service between

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

and Travemünde. In January 2022, Europalink was transferred to Naantali-Långnäs-Kapellskär route and reflagged under Finnish flag. The ''Europalink'' is registered in Mariehamn, Finland.

MS ''Finnswan''

Formerly named the MS ''Nordlink'', renamed in 2018 to MS ''Finnswan''. The construction of ''Nordlink'' was begun at the Castellammare di Stabia shipyard, but she was moved to the Ancona shipyard after launching. The ship's original planned delivery date was in March 2007 but after numerous delays she was finally delivered in July 2007.Fakta om Fartyg - M/S Nordlink
, retrieved 12/4/2006 The ''Nordlink'' is registered in Malmö, Sweden. Following delivery the ship was placed on Malmö–Travemünde traffic, replacing the old . Since June 2009 she has been sailing between Helsinki and Travemünde via

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...

. Since June 2015 she has been sailing between Malmö and Travemünde. Since 2018 on route between Naantali and Kapellskär.

References

External links

Finnlines company websiteNordic Ferry Center
main agent for Finnlines passenger services

agent for Nordic Ferry Center in Russia

Photos of cabins, buffet, bar, sauna M/S ''Finnstar''

Finnlines, Finnmaid voyage to Finland from Gdynia,Poland {{List of ships built by Fincantieri Ferry classes Ferries of Finland Ships built by Fincantieri