MS ''Rosella'' is a
cruiseferry
A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while oth ...
, built in 1980 by
Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technol ...
Turku shipyard,
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 ...
for
SF Line
SF may refer to:
Locations
* San Francisco, California, United States
* Sidi Fredj, Algeria
* South Florida, an urban region in the United States
* Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland
In arts and entertainment Genres ...
, one of the owners of the
Viking Line
Viking Line Abp is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Viking Line is operated from ...
consortium. She currently serves Viking Line's
Kapellskär
Kapellskär () is a port about north of Stockholm, in Sweden. It is located by the Baltic Sea, in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County.
Services
The port is served by frequent passenger ferry services to Mariehamn, Åland, Finland, operated ...
–
Mariehamn
Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...
route. In 2022 she was sold to Aegean Speed Lines as ''Anemos.''
Background
New vessels for SF Line
The market for transporting passengers, cars and cargo trucks across the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
between Finland 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 ...
grew steadily during the 1960s and the early 1970s. During these years, two major carriers on these services emerged: Viking Line and
Silja Line
Silja Line is a Swedish-Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car, cargo and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden.
The former company Silja Oy—today Tallink Silja Oy—is a subsidiary ...
. By the time of the mid 1970s, the
Ålandian based shipping company SF Line operated three ships as a part of Viking Line. Although not more than ten years old, these ships was already beginning to be too small and held too few passenger cabins to meet the growing demand from passengers. In response to this, as well as the newbuilings recently added to the Silja Line fleet, SF Line decided to order two new and bigger ships. These ships would later be known as the
MS Turella and the ''Rosella''.
Ordering
The lowest bid for building the two new vessels came from
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
. In order to save job opportunities in Finland, the Finnish state subsidised the construction of the new ships with 17 million
Finnish markka
The markka ( fi, markka; sv, mark; sign: Mk; ISO code: FIM, typically known outside Finland as the Finnish mark) was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The mark was divided into 100 pe ...
.
[Fakta om Fartyg: MS ''Turella'' (1979)]
retrieved 26. 9. 2007
retrieved 26 September 2007 Thus, the order for the ships eventually went to Wärtsilä and both ships were to be built at their shipyard in
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
, Finland.
Design
SF Line's latest newbuilding was the
''Aurella'', delivered to the company in 1973. The ''Aurella'' was of a new breed of ferries crossing the Baltic, she had two decks of public spaces along with two separate car decks. Inspired by the success of the ''Aurella'', the newbuildings' design resembled her closely although more cabins and larger public spaces were added.
Naming
SF Line's earlier ships were all named with the suffix ''-ella'' with the prefix taken from names of the regions where the ships sailed. Thus the had her name taken from the port of
Kapellskär
Kapellskär () is a port about north of Stockholm, in Sweden. It is located by the Baltic Sea, in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County.
Services
The port is served by frequent passenger ferry services to Mariehamn, Åland, Finland, operated ...
, the 's from
Mariehamn
Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...
and the 's from the
Aura River in Turku. In this manner, the first of the newly built ships was named the ''Turella'', the name deriving from the city of Turku. The second ship got her name, ''Rosella'', from the region of
Roslagen
Roslagen is the name of the coastal areas of Uppland province in Sweden, which also constitutes the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago.
Historically, it was the name for all the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, including the eastern par ...
(the coastal areas north of
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
).
Building and Delivery
The ''Turella'' was put into Viking Line traffic between Turku and Stockholm on June 15, 1979. The ''Rosella'' was laid down on April 27, 1979 and was launched on August 14, 1979. Nine months later, on April 25, 1980, the ''Rosella'' was delivered to SF Line. Due to a seaman's strike in Finland, the ''Rosella'' wasn't put into service until May 23 when she started sailing on the Naantali-Kapellskär route.
Service history
During her entire career, the ''Rosella'' has been a part of the fleet of Viking Line. She has served on the longest time and on more routes than any other Viking Line ship.
Naantali–Mariehamn–Kapellskär (1980–1981)
When delivered, the ''Rosella'' was put in service on Viking Line's route between Naantali and Kapellskär together with her sister ''Turella'' and SF-Line's ''Aurella''.
Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm (1981–1988)
After one year of service, ''Rosella'' was transferred to the Turku–Stockholm route, switching routes with Slite's
''Diana II''. The ''Rosella'' continued on this route until the delivery of the
''Amorella'' on October 14, 1988.
Naantali–Mariehamn–Kapellskär (1988–1993)
In 1987 SF Line made an agreement with
Stena Line
Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...
to sell the ''Rosella'' to them once the ''Amorella'' was delivered in March 1988. However, the ''Amorella''s delivery was delayed by seven months, meaning the ''Rosella'' could not be delivered to Stena in time for the summer season 1988, and SF Line had to pay them compensations. In the end Stena and SF Line reached an agreement where the ''Turella'', which was in better condition and easier to convert for the traffic Stena planned her for, was sold instead of ''Rosella''. As a result the ''Rosella'' took over the ''Turella''s role on the Naantali–Mariehamn–Kapellskär route, replacing her sister for the second time.
Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm (1994–1997)
After the collapse of
Rederi AB Slite, the other Viking Line partner, in 1993, SF Line was forced to reorganise its operations. After construction of additional cabins in place of the cardeck on deck 4, ''Rosella'' returned to the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route in January 1994.
During the summer seasons of 1995 and 1996 replaced ''Rosella'' on the Turku route,
[Fakta om Fartyg: MS ''Cinderella'' (1989)]
retrieved 26. 9. 2007 freeing her to operate car-passenger friendly Naantali route during the high season.
Stockholm–Mariehamn cruises (1997–2003)
When Viking acquired in 1997, the ''Rosella'' was replaced on the Turku–Stockholm service by . In the new situation the ''Rosella'' started making 24 (later 20/22) hour cruises from Stockholm to Mariehamn under the marketing name ''Dancing Queen'' during the winter season, but still returned to the Naantali–Mariehamn–Kapellskär route for the summer months. In 1999 the summer route's eastern terminus was changed to Turku, allowing Viking to give up the terminal at Naantali completely.
Helsinki–Tallinn (2003–2008)
Fearing losses after the termination of tax-free sales between Finland and
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
after Estonia joined the EU in 2004, Viking Line decided to swap the routes of ''Rosella'' and ''Cinderella'' in autumn 2003.
''Rosella'' began a ferry-service between Helsinki and Tallinn with two daily departures from both ports, while the ''Cinderella'' (now renamed ''Viking Cinderella'') took over ''Rosella''s Stockholm–Mariehamn cruise itinerary.
Due to high prices the ''Rosella''s new route was extremely unpopular during the first year and the company strongly considered selling the ship. However, after prices were lowered the ship's popularity increased, to the extent that in 2006 Viking Line decided to order a new fast ferry for the Helsinki-Tallinn route, the .
Viking Line press release: Viking XPRS – a new concept on the Helsinki–Tallinn route
, retrieved 26. 9. 2007 The ''Viking XPRS'' replaced ''Rosella'' on the route on April 28, 2008.
Kapellskär–Mariehamn (2008-2023)
On 30 May 2008, the ''Rosella'' replaced the ''Ålandsfärjan'' on the Kapellskär
Kapellskär () is a port about north of Stockholm, in Sweden. It is located by the Baltic Sea, in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County.
Services
The port is served by frequent passenger ferry services to Mariehamn, Åland, Finland, operated ...
–Mariehamn
Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...
route. She was supposed to be a temporary ship and then replaced by the newbuilding ''Viking ADCC
MV ''Madeleine II'' is a cruiseferry operated by the Canadian company Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien (CTMA). It was previously operated by the Spanish company Trasmediterránea as the MV ''Villa de Teror''.
Originally ordered by ...
'' in 2010. However, when the building project was cancelled due to big delays at the shipyard ''Rosella'' became the permanent ship to sail on the route. In early 2011 MS Rosella underwent a major refurbishment where the public areas were extensively rebuilt and enlarged.
In February 2013, Viking Line announced that ''Rosella'' will be re-flagged to Finland.
References
External links
Viking Line official website for MS ''Rosella''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosella
Ferries of Finland
Ferries of Sweden
Cruiseferries
Ships built in Turku
1979 ships