Royal Line plans to extend its sightseeing cruises to Töölönlahti Bay

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Helsinki’s City Planning Committee is to discuss a proposal by Royal Line to extend their sightseeing cruises to Töölönlahti Bay in 2007.
      The landing places of the sightseeing vessels would include Finlandia Hall, the National Opera, and the Linnanmäki amusement park. Even Restaurant Töölönranta at the head of the bay has been keen to have a quay of their own.
     
The City Planning Department is in favour of the plan, as charter cruises - mainly among the islands off the coast - are among Helsinki’s tourist attractions, while also being part of local residents’ traditional summer activities in the Greater Helsinki area.
      The Helsinki City Board proposed already in 1996 that the prospects for extending waterbus services to Töölönlahti Bay should be examined.
     
Currently, all motor boat traffic on the bay is prohibited because of noise problems. However, Royal Line intends to use water-jet powered canal cruisers which are environmentally friendly.
      The new project is subject to an exceptional permit. However, this appears to be no problem, as the Uusimaa Regional Environment Centre informed the City of Helsinki at the beginning of the current year that the centre is not against the project, provided that the planned activities will not lead to noise or other environmental problems.
     
Töölönlahti is right in the heart of Helsinki, and is an inlet of the sea. Access to the sea is via two other bays leading out to Hakaniemi to the east.
      Whilst there are numerous and obvious attractions to the idea of bringing tourists right into the centre of things in this way, the very nature of the bay presents certain problems.
      In the first place, it is relatively shallow, with an average depth of obnly 1.8 metres. It might be necessary to dredge certain parts of the bay to allow the vessels in. A bridge connecting the bay with access to the open sea would also need to be raised - the current clearance is only 140 centimetres.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki residents will soon enjoy cleaner water in Töölönlahti recreational inlet (19.8.2005)

Links:
  Royal Line
  Uusimaa Regional Environment Centre
  City of Helsinki: Development of Water Quality in Töölönlahti Bay

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