Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) and AS Tallink Grupp have announced that the construction agreement for a new shuttle ferry servicing the Helsinki–Tallinn route will enter into force today. The design of the vessel will begin this spring, with the expected delivery of the vessel in early 2022. The agreement marks RMC’s second car and passenger ferry order this year.

Finnish shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC), and AS Tallink Grupp, have announced that the construction agreement for the new shuttle ferry, set to operate on the Helsinki–Tallinn route will enter into force today. The parties signed the letter of intent in October 2018.

The ferry is the biggest vessel yet to be built by Rauma Marine Constructions, and is valued at about EUR 250 million. The new shuttle ferry will be approximately 212 metres long and have a gross tonnage of approximately 50,000. It will be able to accommodate 2,800 passengers. The ferry will provide over 1,500 man-years of employment for the shipyard.

The vessel will utilise the newest technology and innovative solutions, with the aim of building the most environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient vessel possible. This includes machines that will run on a dual fuel and option for a battery solution, with the main source of fuel being low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG).

“We are very pleased to have secured this order. The modern and environmentally-friendly vessel supports RMC’s aim to be a leading car and passenger ferry provider. The vessel is set to be delivered to the customer in the beginning of 2022, which means we have work secured at the shipyard for a long time ahead. We are also excited to see Tallink returning to Rauma, where four ferries for Tallink have been built previously”, says Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO of Rauma Marine Constructions.

Compared to Tallink’s newest shuttle ferry Megastar, which also operates between Helsinki and Tallinn, the new ferry will have an increased passenger area with more seating, as well as more crew cabins. From a technical standpoint, the ferry will have powerful shore connection equipment and will also be equipped with LNG fuel tanks approximately one third bigger than Megastar. Furthermore, the new enhanced design will allow the ferry’s CO₂ emissions to be reduced by 10 per cent.

“We are pleased to have signed the construction contract with RMC, thus supporting also our regional economies due to the construction taking place in Rauma, and we look forward to starting the shipbuilding process. We are confident the new vessel will enhance our operations on the important Tallinn–Helsinki route even further,” Paavo Nõgene, CEO of AS Tallink Grupp said.

Rauma Marine Constructions is currently also working on another car and passenger ferry. In January, the shipbuilding company signed a construction agreement for a car and passenger ferry servicing the Vaasa–Umeå route, together with Kvarken Link. Due to the growing number of orders, RMC and its network partners need to increase the workforce at the shipyard, with additional recruitments taking place on a continuous basis.

Rauma Marine Constructions and Kvarken Link, who have commissioned the vessel, signed a letter of intent concerning the vessel one week ago (11.1.19). The following construction agreement was reached quickly and both parties thank the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of Finland, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and the Ministry of Finance for enabling the quick execution of the agreement.

Rauma Marine Constructions and Kvarken Link have signed a construction agreement for a car and passenger ferry, set to operate between the Finnish city of Vaasa and the Swedish city of Umeå. Following the agreement, the planning of the vessel can begin with immediate effect.

“We reached an agreement in a little over a week after signing the letter of intent. Now begins the real work. We would like to express our appreciation to the ministers and officials at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of Finland, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and the Ministry of Finance, for their role in making this project a reality,” states Jyrki Heinimaa, Chief Executive Officer, RMC.

The ferry will be completed in 2021 and will operate daily between Vaasa and Umeå. Kvarken Link, who have commissioned the vessel, are owned by the city of Umeå and the city of Vaasa, both of whom serve as guarantors of the financing.

The vessel order, with an approximate value of EUR 120 million, will have a positive impact on employment, totaling around 800 person-years. The ferry will accommodate approximately 800 passengers and will have a freight capacity of 1,500 lane meters for lorries. The vessel will be designed to be environmentally friendly, with machinery running on a dual fuel solution: besides liquefied natural gas it can also be operated using biogas. The ferry has an ice class of 1A Super, in order to guarantee that the vessel is able to navigate as independently as possible in the challenging ice conditions that are a feature of the Kvarken region.

During autumn 2018, Rauma Marine Constructions also signed letters of intent regarding both a new ferry for Tallink, to operate the Helsinki-Tallinn route, and four combat vessels, as part of the Squadron2020 project.

Due to the growing number of orders, RMC has increased their workforce at the shipyard. Additional recruitments will take place in the near future.

Illustration of the car and passenger ferry set to operate between Vaasa and Umeå. Photo: RMC

Photos: https://rmcfinland.fi/contact/media/

More information and interview requests:

Laura Virtanen, Rauma Marine Constructions
tel. +358 50 528 0068
laura.virtanen@rmcfinland.fi

Finnish shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) has signed its third letter of intent within a short period of time. The newest letter of intent concerns a car and passenger ferry set to operate between the Finnish city of Vaasa and the Swedish city of Umeå. The vessel order, with a value of approximately EUR 120 million, will have an impact on employment totalling around 800 person-years. The formal construction agreement is to be signed in early 2019, with the design and construction work set to start immediately thereafter, says Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO of RMC.

”RMC won the public international tender thanks to our expert knowledge and technology. RMC specialises in the design and construction of car and passenger ferries. We are therefore both pleased and proud to have showcased our competence in this area. We are also very grateful for the confidence that the customer has shown in RMC, having commissioned this ferry from us.”

The vessel order comes at an appropriate time for RMC, seeing as the design and construction will mainly be carried out before the construction of the Tallink Shuttle-vessel begins. The letter of intent for the ferry was signed in October last year.

Vessel running on gas and biogas

The ferry, commissioned by Kvarken Link, will accommodate some 800 passengers and has a freight capacity of 1,500 lane metres for lorries. The vessel will be designed to be environmentally friendly, with a machinery running on a dual fuel and battery solution, and the main source of fuel being liquefied natural gas. The vessel will also be able to utilise, for example, biogas produced in Vaasa.

Car and passenger ferry M/S Hammershus, commissioned by Danish ferry operator Molslinjen, is RMC’s first newbuilding vessel and began operating in September. In comparison to Hammershus, the new ferry between Vaasa and Umeå will be more comprehensively outfitted; it will house more cabin space, as well as a more varied restaurant offering, to name just a few extra touches.

The ferry has an ice class of 1A Super, in order to guarantee that the vessel is able to navigate in the challenging ice conditions of the Kvarken region as independently as possible. RMC’s aim is to ensure the reliability of its vessels in all operating conditions.

Kvarken Link is owned by the city of Umeå and the city of Vaasa, both of whom serve as guarantors of the financing.

Rauma Marine Constructions, which operates from Rauma Shipyard, has seen rapid growth. During autumn, the shipbuilding company has signed letters of intent regarding both a new ferry for Tallink to operate the Helsinki-Tallinn route, and four combat vessels, as part of the Squadron2020 project. In addition, RMC is also currently building blocks for a cruise ship at Turku Shipyard.

Due to the growing number of orders, RMC has actively been recruiting new workforce for the shipyard. The recruitment efforts will continue in the near future, with the aim being to recruit both nationally as well as internationally.

Further photos from the RMC shipyard: https://rmcfinland.fi/contact/media/

Attached Kvarken Link’s pressrelease: Press release 20190111 Final ENG

For more information and interview requests, please contact:

Laura Virtanen, Rauma Marine Constructions
tel. +358 50 528 0068
laura.virtanen@rmcfinland.fi

Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) is a wholly Finnish-owned shipbuilding company formed in the summer of 2014 in Rauma. RMC specialises in building and servicing multipurpose icebreakers, car and passenger ferries and naval vessels. More information is available at www.rmcfinland.fi.

Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) and the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command have signed a letter of intent on the main principles and conditions for the construction of four corvettes for the Finnish Navy. Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO, RMC, expressed satisfaction regarding the progress, while emphasizing the capacity of Rauma shipyard to construct both commercial vessels, and corvettes for the Finnish Defence Forces.

The Finnish Defence Forces announced the agreement last week and the signing took place early this week, November 2018. The parties have agreed on the price of the vessels, the timetable for the delivery, allocation of responsibilities and issues concerning risk management, amongst other things.

Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO, RMC, is pleased that the letter of intent has been signed, as it represents a long-awaited decision, following detailed negotiations between the parties.

“Rauma is a traditional place for building Finnish naval ships. As a Finnish company, we are proud of the trust we have gained and that we have the honor to continue this tradition. We have also strengthened our organization in recent years and will continue to do so in order to ensure that RMC has the best and most experienced core of specialists in Europe, especially for these types of projects.”

In 2017, Rauma Marine Constructions received authorization from the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command to execute a significant share of the basic design of the multi-function corvettes. The rest of the design will be implemented after the vessels’ main equipment has been tendered and selected. The contract for the construction of the vessels will be signed in early 2019.

In further news, in October, RMC and Tallink also announced a letter of intent for a new high-speed car and passenger ferry between Helsinki and Tallinn. According to Heinimaa, the shipyard is equipped to fit several different projects simultaneously.

“Tallink’s car and passenger ship will be delivered at the end of 2021, and the construction of the corvettes will begin in 2020 and last until 2027. The commercial vessels and the corvettes are built alongside one another, but kept completely separate, not least for security reasons,” Heinimaa emphasizes.

Rauma Marine Constructions is currently seeking more employees, as the company expects to grow significantly in the coming years due to its new orders. The company aims to become a world-leading shipyard.

Additional information and interview requests:

Laura Virtanen, Rauma Marine Constructions
tel. +358 50 528 0068
laura.virtanen@rmcfinland.fi