Finnlines announced it has taken delivery of Finncanopus, its second of two Superstar-series freight-passenger (ro-pax) vessels from shipbuilder China Merchants Jingling Shipyard (Weihai) Co. Ltd.(CMJL (Weihai)).
On July 18, CMJL (Weihai) delivered the first vessel of the series to Finnlines. The two Superstar sister vessels are the largest ro-pax vessels in the Finnlines fleet. The vessel has an overall length of 235.64 meters, a beam of 33.3 meters, a design draft of 7.0 meters, a maximum capacity of 1,212 passengers, and a lane length of 5,100 meters, which allows it to carry about 200 cars and 300 heavy trucks.
The ro-pax vessel is equipped with one bow door and three stern doors, i.e. 3A and 5A are equipped with bow and stern boarding passages. And it is set up with 5 levels of vehicle decks (including one level of elevating movable trolley deck), whose scientific and reasonable roll-on/roll-off arrangement can improve the loading and unloading efficiency and reduce the docking time.
The vessel is built in accordance with the classification standards of RINA, and meets the requirements of Green Plus and ICE IA SUPER, with four engines, two propellers and two shaft generators. In addition, the vessel is equipped with a number of energy-saving and environmental protection devices such as advanced air damping system, storage battery system, desulfurization tower and ballast water treatment system, which meets the latest IMO standards of EEDI and the latest international norms such as Safe Return to Port (SRTP).
The vessel is equipped with 323 passenger cabins. Combined with the characteristics of a luxury cruise ship, it features supermarket stores, bars, sauna and fitness, game rooms, VIP lounges, children’s playground, restaurants, cafes, and other public entertainment venues, combining travel, leisure, and entertainment. And it is designed to have various types of seating and public areas for passengers to enjoy the sea scenery and enhance the travel experience.
Finncanopus is a highly automated and luxuriously decorated cruise-type Ro-Ro vessel, which adopts international advanced environmental protection and network technologies such as oil-electric hybrid power, and is a representative of the new generation of Scandinavian-style high-end cruise-class Ro-Ro vessels. The ship has added many new equipments and systems compared with the previous passenger-roller ship project, and there are big changes in the upper building arrangement and decoration style, which greatly increase the difficulty of ship design and construction.
The newbuild is slated to enter service on Finnlines’ line between Finland and Sweden (Naantali–Långnäs–Kapellskär) in February 2024. The homeward voyage is expected to take 6–7 weeks as Finncanopus will be nearly fully loaded with freight and will call several ports before entering the Baltic Sea.
Finncanopus is the final vessel of Finnlines EUR 500-million Green Newbuilding Program, comprising two hybrid ro-pax and three hybrid ro-ro vessels, all equipped with state-of-the-art eco-friendly technology. The first Superstar ro-pax vessel, Finnsirius, was delivered to Finnlines in July and she entered the Naantali–Långnäs–Kapellskär route in September 2023. Finncanopus will join Finnsirius on the route, departing from Naantali in the evening and from Kapellskär in the morning. The three hybrid ro-ro vessels started operating in summer 2022.