Silja Europa facing lengthy layoff
Tallink Silja brings new vessel onto Turku-Stockholm route from Thursday
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It now appears that the cruise ferry Silja Europa will be out of service owing to its rudderstock problems for a good deal longer than was imagined on Monday, when the owners Tallink Silja suggested "at least a week".
"It is still difficult to estimate how long the repairs will take", said Tallink Silja's Deputy CEO Pasi Näkki on Tuesday.
In any event, the line intends to bring in a replacement in the form of Tallink Silja's newest vessel, the Baltic Queen, which normally plies the route from Tallinn to Stockholm.
She will take over duties on the Silja Europa's Turku-Stockholm run from Thursday, and this will continue at least until December 11th.
Tallink Silja have been looking for a repair dock for the Europa all over the Baltic, and on Tuesday evening they apparently found one, although the exact location is only to be announced sometime today.
For a shipping company that stands to benefit from the additional trade from "Little Christmas" parties on board, the damage to the ship's rudder came at a most unfortunate time.
"We will analyse the financial losses accruing from this when the time comes", said Näkki.
He also denied any suggestions that the maintenance of former Silja Line vessels would have taken a turn for the worse under the new Estonian ownership.
His comments on this score received support from Paavo Wihuri, Director of Maritime Safety & Security at the Finnish Maritime Administration, who declared that the ship had been in dry dock for the regular checks and that nothing untoward had shown up.
Wihuri noted that what had happened to the starboard rudderstock was quite exceptional, and said he had never encountered a breakage of the rudder axle of this nature in a 45-year career.
Getting the ship into port in Turku on Monday did not bring any immediate reasons for why the fault should have occurred during Sunday's crossing. Both Tallink Silja and the authorities were at a loss to explain it.
The maritime authorities do not give credence to the idea that the vessel would have briefly gone aground or struck a rock below the surface, as there was no evidence of this from the bridge or in the form of other marks on the hull.
However, the fact is that the reasons will not emerge before the ship is laid up for repairs.
All that is known at present is that something caused the four-metre-long rudderstock to break.
The axle itself is of steel and is around 40cms in diameter.
Examination when the ship is laid up will include the possibility of hairline fractures in the steel, and there will also have to be a close inspection of the rudderstock on the port side.
The Baltic Queen, which was only delivered from the STX Europe yard in April of this year, is seen as the flagship of the Tallink Silja fleet, and is one of the largest cruise ferries in the Baltic, accommodating up to 2,800 passengers and 1,130 lane-metres of vehicles.
"It is still difficult to estimate how long the repairs will take", said Tallink Silja's Deputy CEO Pasi Näkki on Tuesday.
In any event, the line intends to bring in a replacement in the form of Tallink Silja's newest vessel, the Baltic Queen, which normally plies the route from Tallinn to Stockholm.
She will take over duties on the Silja Europa's Turku-Stockholm run from Thursday, and this will continue at least until December 11th.
Tallink Silja have been looking for a repair dock for the Europa all over the Baltic, and on Tuesday evening they apparently found one, although the exact location is only to be announced sometime today.
For a shipping company that stands to benefit from the additional trade from "Little Christmas" parties on board, the damage to the ship's rudder came at a most unfortunate time.
"We will analyse the financial losses accruing from this when the time comes", said Näkki.
He also denied any suggestions that the maintenance of former Silja Line vessels would have taken a turn for the worse under the new Estonian ownership.
His comments on this score received support from Paavo Wihuri, Director of Maritime Safety & Security at the Finnish Maritime Administration, who declared that the ship had been in dry dock for the regular checks and that nothing untoward had shown up.
Wihuri noted that what had happened to the starboard rudderstock was quite exceptional, and said he had never encountered a breakage of the rudder axle of this nature in a 45-year career.
Getting the ship into port in Turku on Monday did not bring any immediate reasons for why the fault should have occurred during Sunday's crossing. Both Tallink Silja and the authorities were at a loss to explain it.
The maritime authorities do not give credence to the idea that the vessel would have briefly gone aground or struck a rock below the surface, as there was no evidence of this from the bridge or in the form of other marks on the hull.
However, the fact is that the reasons will not emerge before the ship is laid up for repairs.
All that is known at present is that something caused the four-metre-long rudderstock to break.
The axle itself is of steel and is around 40cms in diameter.
Examination when the ship is laid up will include the possibility of hairline fractures in the steel, and there will also have to be a close inspection of the rudderstock on the port side.
The Baltic Queen, which was only delivered from the STX Europe yard in April of this year, is seen as the flagship of the Tallink Silja fleet, and is one of the largest cruise ferries in the Baltic, accommodating up to 2,800 passengers and 1,130 lane-metres of vehicles.
Helsingin Sanomat