Cooperation between Rauma Marine Constructions and Meyer Turku extends further – the new Tallink Shuttle will be planned with support from Turku shipyard

The cooperation between ship building company Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) and Meyer Turku will continue. The new Tallink Shuttle ferry is the latest order from Rauma shipyard. RMC has acquired a licence to use the planning materials of the Shuttle’s sister ship, MS Megastar, from Meyer Turku, and the materials will be used in planning the new ferry. The new shuttle will be more environmentally friendly than its predecessors, and it will be handed over to Tallink in early 2022.

In March 2019, Rauma Marine Constructions Oy (RMC) and AS Tallink Grupp agreed on building a new Tallink Shuttle. For the planning phase of the project, RMC has acquired a licence to use the planning materials of MS Megastar, the Shuttle’s sister ship with similar basic features. Built at Meyer’s Turku shipyard, MS Megastar was delivered to Tallink at the beginning of 2017. Smooth cooperation is essential to the success of the Finnish Maritime Cluster, says Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO of Rauma Marine Constructions.

“Besides RMC and Meyer Turku, the whole maritime industry and Finland as a country will benefit from this cooperation. We are very happy about collaborating with Meyer. This joint effort allows us to plan and build the new Shuttle in a cost-efficient way, using solutions that have already proven to work well”, Heinimaa says.

The cooperation between Rauma Marine Constructions and Meyer Turku began in summer 2018, when Meyer Turku placed an order from RMC for two blocks for the hull of the cruise ship Costa Smeralda. The companies have since signed more agreements on building several additional blocks. All in all, 12 hotel area blocks have been or will be built for cruise ships owned by Costa Cruises or Carnival Cruise Lines.

“Promoting the ship building industry in Finland is important to us. Our earlier cooperation with RMC has been successful, and this is a natural way to continue working together”, says Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku.

The new energy efficient Tallink Shuttle ferry is the largest ship ordered from Rauma Marine Constructions, and the vessel is valued at about EUR 250 million. The new shuttle ferry will be approximately 212 metres long, and it will be able to accommodate 2,800 passengers.

Altogether, four ships have been built for Tallink Grupp at Rauma shipyard, and two more have been planned in Rauma. The previous ship built in Rauma for Tallink Grupp, Baltic Queen, was delivered in 2009 and now operates between Tallinn and Stockholm.