''Vartiovene 55'' is a former

Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( fi, Merivoimat, sv, Marinen) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short f ...

R-class patrol boat The R-class patrol boats was a class of Finnish patrol boats, originally constructed as coastal minesweepers. They were modified into patrol boats by the end of the 1960s and transferred to the Patrol Flotilla and later to the 7th Missile Floti ...

bought into private ownership and converted into a commercial cruise ship. It can be rented for private pleasure trips on 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 ...

History

Originally named ''Röyttä'', the ship was built as a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

in the Turku harbour on 2 July 1959. It was originally numbered 5, but the number was changed to 55 in the middle 1970s. ''Röyttä'' and its sister ships, ''Ruissalo'', ''Raisio'', ''Rihtniemi'' and ''Rymättylä'', were originally designed to serve as coastal minesweepers, based at

Pansio Pansio is a district and a suburb of the city of Turku, Finland. It is located in the western part of the city. It has a population of 2,809 (), and an annual population growth of -3.83%. 19.25% of the district's population are under 15 years o ...

. In June 1969, a new patrol fleet was founded and ''Röyttä'' and ''Raisio'' moved to

Upinniemi Upinniemi ( sv, Obbnäs) is a village in the municipality of Kirkkonummi in southern Finland. It is located approximately 12 km south of the municipal centre. Upinniemi is dominated by the naval base (formerly the Porkkala Naval Base), whi ...

. ''Röyttä'' underwent a redesign in 1980. ''Röyttä'' and its sister ships served the Finnish Navy until the end of the 1990s. Since then, ''Rihtniemi'' and ''Rymättylä'' were transferred to the

Estonian Navy The Estonian Navy ( et, Merevägi) are the unified naval forces among the Estonian Defence Forces. With only six commissioned ships and displacement well under 10,000 tonnes, the Estonian navy is one of the smallest navies in the world. Its sh ...

, ''Ruissalo'' was scrapped and ''Raisio'' was sold completely stripped of its armament and equipment.

Current situation

The Finnish Navy resigned ownership of the ship in 1999, and since 2006 it has been in private ownership, stripped of its armament. Since 2012, it has been in commercial use in

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 ...

. The ship is owned by the company Wave and Soul Cruises, which rents the ship for private trips and maintains the ship's condition.

Facilities

The ship holds a maximum of 61 passengers. It has two conference rooms and a

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 ...

in its interior, and a

jacuzzi Jacuzzi Brands LLC (; ), through its subsidiaries, is a global manufacturer and distributor of branded baths, hot tubs, pools, saunas and, formerly, aircraft. Founded in 1915 by the Italian family of the same name, Jacuzzi is a federally regist ...

on its top deck.

External links

Official site
Ships of Finland 1959 ships {{ship-stub