MS ''Galaxy 1'' is a

cruise ferry 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 ot ...

built in 2006 by

Aker Finnyards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding companie ...

Rauma, Finland Rauma (; sv, Raumo) is a town and municipality of around () inhabitants on the west coast of Finland, north of Turku, and south of Pori. Its neighbouring municipalities are Eura, Eurajoki, Laitila and Pyhäranta. Granted town privileges on 1 ...

and was at the time the largest ship delivered to ferry operator

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 Se ...

. Between 2006–2008 she held the distinction of being the largest ship ever to be registered in

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, an ...

; a title later held by her replacement the sister ship . Between July 2008 and September 2022, ''Galaxy'' sailed on the Stockholm–Åland–Turku route under Tallink's Silja Line brand. After ending this service, the ''Galaxy'' is scheduled to be used as refugee housing in the Netherlands for at least seven months.

History

The introduction of Tallink's first newbuilding, the cruiseferry ''Romantika'', in 2002 on the cruise service between Tallinn and Helsinki was a success. One year after her entry into this service, Tallink's fiercest competitor

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 operate ...

, announced that they would withdraw their flagship ''Cinderella'' from the same route, replacing her with the more freight-oriented ''Rosella''. This led Tallink to order a bigger ship to replace the ''Romantika'' on 28 October 2004. ''Romantika'', in turn, was needed to join her newly delivered sister ship, the ''Victoria I'', on the Tallinn–

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

route.

Design and construction

Building of the new ship commenced in early 2005 and her keel was laid on 21 April. The shipyard was

, Rauma. The Rauma shipyard had previously built the ''Romantika'' and the ''Victoria I''. On 1 December 2005, the new ship was launched and christened as ''Galaxy''. Designed as a carefully enlarged replica of the ''Romantika'', the ''Galaxy'' is longer and has additional cabins and public areas. Leaving behind the external livery scheme introduced on the ''Romantika'' and her sister, the ''Galaxy'' sports a white hull with a cloud decorated blue superstructure, along with a number of different animals painted on her sides. The design of the livery was made by the Estonian artist

Navitrolla Heiki Trolla (born 10 August 1970 in Võru), better known by his artist name Navitrolla, is an Estonian painter whose work has been described as naivist Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in ...

Långnäs Långnäs is a port in Lumparland on the eastern mainland of Åland, about 30 km over the road away from Åland's capital Mariehamn. Road ferries to Kumlinge (Snäckö) and Galtby via Föglö (Överö) and Kökar start here. Långnäs is an alte ...

–

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''; ...

route during 2008. She was replaced by her sister ship ''Baltic Princess''.

Stockholm–Turku service

Following the ''Baltic Princess'' replacing ''Galaxy'' on the Tallinn–Helsinki route, ''Galaxy'' replaced ''Silja Festival'' on the Stockholm–Turku route on 23 July 2008. Coinciding with the route change, ''Galaxy'' was re-registered to Sweden.Turun Sanomat 16. 10. 2007: Enn Pant uskoo Galaxyn nostavan matkustajien määrää Turun-reitillä
retrieved 2007-10-16 The ships external livery, as well as her name, was left unchanged, despite an earlier statement made by Tallink that she would be re-painted in Silja livery. A "Silja Line" hull text did replace the "Tallink Cruise" text on her sides, but her Tallink funnel logo was left unaltered. Before beginning service, ''Galaxy'' was docked at

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 ...

for three days.

Refugee Housing Charter

Starting in September 2022, the ''Galaxy'' is being used as refugee housing in The Netherlands until at least March 2023.

Decks

''Galaxy'' has ten decks.Tallink Silja official website for M/S ''Galaxy''
, retrieved 2007-08-30

References

External links

*
Tallink Silja official website for M/S ''Galaxy''
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galaxy Ferries of Estonia Ferries of Sweden Ships built in Rauma, Finland Cruiseferries 2005 ships