''Mega Andrea'' 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 ...

owned and operated by Corsica Ferries Sardinia Ferries. She was formerly owned and operated by the

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 ...

-based

Tallink Tallink () is an Estonian shipping company operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden to Sweden and Finland to Sweden. It is the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea ...

as the MS ''Silja Festival'', and used on their route connecting Riga, Latvia to Stockholm, Sweden. She was built in 1986 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 technolo ...

Helsinki 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 Effoa as MS ''Wellamo'' for use on

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 ...

traffic. She was rebuilt in 1992 at

Lloyds Werft Lloyd, Lloyd's, or Lloyds may refer to: People * Lloyd (name), a variation of the Welsh word ' or ', which means "grey" or "brown" ** List of people with given name Lloyd ** List of people with surname Lloyd * Lloyd (singer) (born 1986), Americ ...

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 ...

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 ...

as ''Silja Festival''. In 2008 the ship was transferred from the Silja Line fleet to that of Tallink, but she retained her Silja-prefixed name. After being replaced by

MS Isabelle MS ''Isabelle'' is a cruiseferry

on the Stockholm-Riga route in May 2013 she was chartered as an accommodation ship to

Kitimat, British Columbia Kitimat is a district municipality in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine regional government. The Kitimat Valley is part of the most populous urban distr ...

. She was then sold in early 2015 to

Corsica Ferries Corsica Ferries - Sardinia Ferries (Corsica Ferries France SAS – Forship SpA) is a Franco-Italian ferry company that operates traffic to and from the islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Elba. The ferry company was founded in 1967 by the C ...

History

Wellamo

Following the delivery of MS ''Finlandia'' and MS ''Silvia Regina'' for Silja Line's

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

–Stockholm service, Johnson Line and Effoa decided to order a pair of ships based on a similar design for the

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''; ...

–Stockholm service. The first of the new ships, named MS ''Svea'', was delivered to Johnson Line in May 1985. The ship built for Effoa was given the name MS ''Wellamo'' (after the goddess of the sea in Finnish mythology, a traditional name in Effoa fleet) and delivered in January 1986. Following delivery she was placed on the Stockholm– Mariehamn–

route.MS Wellamo (II)
a
Valkeat Laivat
retrieved 19 September 2007 The Wellamo suffered her first major mishap in July of the same year when she suffered a blackout and was grounded near Mariehamn. Following the grounding she was repaired at Luonnonmaan Telakka,

Naantali Naantali (; sv, Nådendal) is a town in southwestern Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important tourist centre of the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located in the region of Southwest Finland, west ...

, Finland. In 1989 plans were made for converting the ship to a combined car/passenger/

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ...

, but these were abandoned. In the summer of 1990 the Wellamo briefly served on the

–Stockholm route, because the new ''Silja Serenade'' was not yet complete, but old MS ''Finlandia'' had to be delivered to her new owners

DFDS DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. It is the busiest shipping company of its kind in Northern Europe and one of the busiest in Europe. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literall ...

.Valkeat Laivat: Loistoristeilijöiden ja tappiovuosien aikakausi
, retrieved 19 September 2007 During the same year Effoa and Johnson Line merged to form EffJohn, who now became the sole owners of Silja Line. In the early 1990s EffJohn planned a large-scale reconstruction of GTS ''Finnjet''. However the company could not gather enough funds to realise this project. Instead the money was used to rebuild the Svea and Wellamo. In 1992, Wellamo was docked and rebuild at

. Most notable exterior changes were a new skybar in front of the funnel and a new, more blue-dominated livery. Following the reconstruction the Wellamo was renamed MS ''Silja Festival'' (her sister having become MS ''Silja Karneval''). Around the same time her homeport was changed from Helsinki to Mariehamn.

Silja Festival

Initially ''Silja Festival'' continued on the same route as before, alongside her sister, but following the acquisition of MS ''Silja Europa'' and the subsequent fleet re-organisation there was no longer a need for the ship on the Turku route. As a result, was placed on the

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

–

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, U ...

route from 20 March to 23 May 1993. When Silja Line began collaboration with Euroway in June 1993, ''Silja Festival'' was moved to their

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 pop ...

–

Travemünde Travemünde () is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in 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, and the Danes ...

–

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

route, sailing parallel to MS ''Frans Suell''. From there on the service was marketed as Silja Line Euroway. A few months later the route was extended to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. After the Euroway service was terminated in April 1994, ''Silja Festival'' was moved back to the

Kvarken Kvarken ( sv, Kvarken, Norra Kvarken (as opposed to South Kvarken); ) is the narrow region of the Gulf of Bothnia separating the Bothnian Bay (the inner part of the gulf) from the Bothnian Sea. The distance from the Swedish mainland to the Finn ...

to operate from Vaasa to Umeå and Sundsvall. Around this time Silja Line made an agreement to sell ''Silja Festival'' or her sistership ''Silja Karneval'' to

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

ferry operator Color Line. Although ''Silja Karneval'' was the ship finally sold to Color, the new owners had presumed they would be getting ''Silja Festival'' and had made promotional posters for their new ship accordingly. As a result, the Silja Karneval was confusingly renamed MS ''Color Festival''. On 2 September 1994, ''Silja Festival'' was moved from Vaasa to serve the Helsinki–

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

route. For the summer of 1995, (26 June to 14 August) she served Vaasa–Sundsvall again, then returned to Helsinki–Tallinn. After the charter agreement of MS ''Silja Scandinavia'' ended in April 1997 On 5 April 1997, Silja Line switched the ship's flag from Finnish to Swedish and put her back on Stockholm–Mariehamn–Turku service, where she remained until 2008. ''Silja Festival'' was replaced on the Turku–Stockholm service by on 23 July 2008. Subsequently, ''Silja Festival'' was moved to the Latvian ship registry, repainted with

logos, and entered service on Tallink's Stockholm– Riga route on 2 August 2008. Despite being moved under the Tallink brand and marketed as "Festival", the ship's registered name remained as ''Silja Festival''. On 5 April 2013, Tallink announced the purchase of Viking Line's ferry MS Isabella which then replaced MS ''Silja Festival'' on the Stockholm-Riga route on 6 May 2013.

MS Isabelle MS ''Isabelle'' is a cruiseferry

, which became the new name in the Tallink fleet, has more passenger and car capacity which is needed to meet the increased demand on the route. ''Silja Festival'' sailed to British Columbia, Canada in March 2014 to be used for accommodations for construction workers helping to construct

Rio Tinto Alcan Rio Tinto Alcan is a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, based in Montreal. It was created on 15 November 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto's Canadian subsidiary and Canadian company Alcan. It is the global leader of aluminium mining and ...

's new Aluminum Smelter. While in

the vessel was assigned the name "Delta Spirit Lodge". Silja Festival remained moored at Rio Tinto's dock for just over a year prior to departing for Italy at the end of April 2015. Now she is called by her new name "Mega Andrea". And now she has enough work at Corsica Ferries in Italy. Her home port now is Genova.

Decks

Engine room On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. To increase a vessel's safety and chances of surviving damage, the machinery necessary for the ship's operation may be segregated into var ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

# Engine room, Tourist II-class cabins,

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

, swimming pool and hot tubs #

Car deck 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 ...

## Car platform, can be lowered hydraulically to divide the car deck in two giving space for two layers of passenger cars # Seaside, Tourist I and Tourist I S-class cabins, ''Lobby shop'', ''Siljaland'' children's playroom, information desk, boarding, crew accommodations # Silja, Seaside, Tourist I and Tourist I S-class cabins, crew accommodations # Suites, Silja, Seaside, Tourist I and Tourist I S-class cabins, crew accommodations # ''Dancing Palace'' night club (level 1), ''Captain's Grill'' restaurant, ''Trattoria'' restaurant, ''

Café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non ...

Martim'', ''Sailor's

Pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

'', ''

Buffet A buffet can be either a sideboard (a flat-topped piece of furniture with cupboards and drawers, used for storing crockery, glasses, and table linen) or a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve ...

Veranda'' # ''Dancing Palace'' night club (level 2),

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

conference room A conference hall, conference room, or meeting room is a room provided for singular events such as business conferences and meetings. Room It is commonly found at large hotels and convention centers though many other establishments, including even ...

s, tax-free shop, perfumerie # Panorama bar, crew accommodations,

sundeck A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary or upper deck is the horizontal structure that forms the "roof" of the hull, strengthening it and serving as the primary working surface. Ve ...

# Crew accommodations #

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

Silja Festival 2003 deck plans
a
Valkeat Laivat
retrieved 20 September 2007

References

External links

''Mega Andrea'' at marinetraffic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mega Andrea Ferries of Italy Cruiseferries Ships built in Helsinki 1985 ships