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55-537: MS Estonia was a cruiseferry built in 1980 for the Finnish shipping company Rederi Ab Sally by Meyer Werft , in Papenburg , West Germany . It was employed on ferry routes between Finland and Sweden by various companies (first Viking Line , then EffJohn ) until the end of January 1993, when it was sold to Nordström & Thulin for use on Estline 's Tallinn–Stockholm route. The ship's sinking on 28 September 1994, in

110-532: A 45% raise in passenger numbers. Late in the same year Johnson Line purchased Rederi AB Svea, and the former Svea ships received Johnson Line's blue/yellow colours. The good experiences with the new Helsinki ships prompted Effoa and Johnson Line to order two ships built on a similar principle for traffic on the Turku–Stockholm route, which were delivered in 1985 and 1986 as MS  Svea and MS  Wellamo . Although similar in proportions and interior layout,

165-618: A European ship, after the RMS Titanic (1912) and the RMS Empress of Ireland (1914), and the deadliest peacetime shipwreck to have occurred in European waters, with 852 lives lost. There is a memorial for the event in Tallinn and Sweden . Cruiseferry A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry . Many passengers travel with the ships for

220-466: A daughter company, Oy Siljavarustamo / Siljarederiet Ab . The new company started out with used ships, which were not particularly well-fitted for the role they were meant for, but in 1961 Silja took delivery of the new MS  Skandia , the first purpose-built car-passenger ferry in the northern Baltic Sea . Skandia ' s sister MS  Nordia followed the next year and the era's giant MS  Fennia in 1966. Two more ships based on

275-583: A day and a half together to come up with a common seal character for the Silja Line Logo. The Silja Line seal logo has since been altered at least in 1972, 2012 and 2014. In spring 2009 Tallink Silja donated one euro for each Harri Hylje mascot sold on board Silja Line ships to the WWF Finland Baltic Sea campaign Operaatio Merenneito ("Operation Mermaid"). The total amount of donations rose up to 11 thousand euro. In autumn 2014 Tallink Silja,

330-551: A freight-carrying company). Their two ships were sold to Effoa and their shares of Silja Line split between the two other companies. In Finland, and later in Sweden, a large maritime strike in spring 1980 stopped ferry traffic completely and prompted Effoa to terminate the Silja Cruises service. Despite the difficulties Silja's first real cruiseferries , Finlandia and MS  Silvia Regina , entered service in 1981, which led to

385-401: A loan to buy the ship. Although Nordström & Thulin was the company which bought the ship, her registered owner was Estline Marine Co Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus, which chartered the ship to E.Liini A/S, Tallinn, Estonia (daughter company of Nordström & Thulin and ESCO ), which in turn chartered the ship to Estline AB. As a result, the ship was actually registered in both Cyprus and Estonia. As

440-517: A new agreement was made that also included the Swedish Rederi AB Svea . Originally the collaboration agreement applied only on service between Turku and Stockholm , but it was also applied to the Helsinki –Stockholm route in 1928. As a precursor to the policies later adopted by Silja Line, each of the three companies ordered a near-identical ship for Helsinki–Stockholm service to coincide with

495-441: A result, the seal's head logo replaced the colours of each individual owner company on the funnel. In November, the new MS  Silja Serenade made its maiden voyage from Helsinki to Stockholm, approximately seven months after the original planned delivery date. MS  Silja Symphony was delivered the following year. Although popular and sporting a successful design, the new ships had been very expensive. This expense, coupled with

550-544: A ship of identical design from the same shipyard to replace the current Helsinki–Stockholm ships. These were delivered in 1975, first MS  Svea Corona and MS Wellamo , followed by MS  Bore Star in December. However, winter passenger numbers were insufficient for three ships, and as a result Bore Star was chartered to Finnlines during the winters of 1975–76 and 1976–77. In 1976 Finland SS Co changed its name to Effoa (the Finnish phonetic spelling of FÅA). During

605-509: A thirsty soul?" The Swedish word for "soul" is själ , and in the archipelago it is pronounced similarly to the word for "seal", which is säl . The company name Silja Line had not yet been invented at the time, instead the cooperating shipping companies Bore , Effoa and Svea used the marketing name Ruotsinlaivat ("The ships to Sweden") in Finland and De Samseglande Finlandsbåtarna ("The ships to Finland sailing together") in Sweden. At first

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660-571: A total of four new ships in 1980 alone, three of which were built for Rederi AB Sally. In addition to the Viking Sally , the Viking Saga and her sister ship Viking Song also entered service in 1980, having been built by Wärtsilä (now Aker Finnyards ) in Turku , Finland. Meyer Werft had constructed a large number of ships for various Viking Line partner companies during the 1970s. The construction of

715-455: Is Silja Line's seal mascot and the company's signature animal appearing in its logo . A living Harri Hylje figure appears on Silja Line ships especially on weekends and on school holiday periods. The seal logo originated in 1967, allegedly half-accidentally from word play . During a brainstorming meeting among the marketing department, someone said in Swedish : "Who could bring some comfort for

770-555: Is performed by Tallink Grupp which also own the ships. As of 2009, four ships service two routes under the Silja Line brand, transporting about three million passengers and 200,000 cars every year. The Silja Line ships have a market share of around 50 percent on the two routes served. The Silja Line logo features the text Silja Line and a figure of a seal . Since 2014, the figure of the seal has been smiling. The famous theme tune heard in Silja Line's television commercials comes from

825-574: The 1952 Summer Olympics , held in Helsinki. Eventually only Finland SS Co.'s SS  Aallotar was ready in time for the Olympics. At this time the city of Helsinki constructed the Olympia Terminal in Helsinki's South Harbour, which Silja Line's ships still use. Realising that car-passenger ferries would be the dominant traffic form in the future, the three collaborating companies decided to form

880-574: The Baltic Sea between Sweden, Finland and Estonia, was one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters of the 20th century, claiming 852 lives. An official inquiry found that failure of the locks on the bow visor caused water to flood the car deck and quickly capsize the ship. The report also noted a lack of crew action. A 2023 investigation noted additional construction flaws in the bow visor. 59°23′0″N 21°40′0″E  /  59.38333°N 21.66667°E  / 59.38333; 21.66667 The ship

935-603: The Navitrolla -designed livery of the ship, which differs from the livery of other Silja ships, was not altered. The Silja Festival , while remaining registered under the same name, was in turn moved to Tallink's Stockholm– Riga route, her funnel repainted in Tallink colours and the text Tallink painted on her sides. In October 2009, the Managing Director of Silja Line (Tallink Silja Oy), Keijo Mehtonen, retired and Margus Schults

990-579: The North Atlantic . Cruiseferries also operate from India , China and Australia . In the northern Baltic Sea, two major rival companies, Viking Line and Silja Line , have for decades competed on the routes between Turku and Helsinki in Finland and Sweden 's capital Stockholm . Since the 1990s Tallink has also risen as a major company in the area, culminating with acquisition of Silja Line in 2006. The term "cruiseferry" did not come into use until

1045-496: The Skandia design, MS  Botnia and MS  Floria , were delivered in 1967 and 1970 respectively. Despite the establishment of Silja, FÅA, Bore and Svea also continued to operate on the same routes with their own ships. This led to a somewhat complex situation where four different companies were marketed as one entity. In Finland they went by the name Ruotsinlaivat ('Sweden's Ships' or 'Ships to Sweden') whereas in Sweden

1100-489: The Wasa King was widely considered to be the best behaving ship in rough weather to have sailed from Vaasa. In January 1993, at the same time when EffJohn decided to merge Wasa Line's operations into Silja Line, Wasa King was sold to Nordström & Thulin for use on Estline 's Tallinn –Stockholm traffic under the name Estonia . The actual ownership of the ship was rather complex, in order for Nordström & Thulin to get

1155-464: The ship's bow consisted of an upwards-opening visor and a car ramp that was placed inside the visor when it was closed. An identical bow construction had also been used in Diana II . Estonia previously sailed as Viking Sally (1980–1990), Silja Star (1990–1991), and Wasa King (1991–1993). On 29 June 1980, Viking Sally was delivered to Rederi Ab Sally, Finland and was put into service on

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1210-550: The 1980s, although it has been retroactively applied to earlier ferries that have large cabin capabilities and public spaces in addition to their car- and passenger-carrying capacity. Silja Line The former company Silja Oy—today Tallink Silja Oy —is, since 2006, a subsidiary of AS Tallink Grupp, handling marketing and sales for Tallink and Silja Line brands in Finland as well as managing Tallink Silja's ship employees. Another subsidiary, Tallink Silja AB, handles marketing and sales in Sweden. Strategical corporate management

1265-521: The EU tax union after the country joined the EU in 1994 and so avoid the end of tax-fee sales. A bigger change was Sea Containers purchasing the majority of Neptun Maritime's shares. In 2000, the new owners brought one of their Super SeaCats into service on the Helsinki–Tallinn route and Neptun Maritime again changed its name, this time to Silja Oyj Abp. In the same year the route between Vaasa and Umeå

1320-533: The Helsinki–Stockholm route, which would again be the largest ferries ever built, eventually named MS  Silja Serenade and MS  Silja Symphony . Not revealed at the time, the new ships had a 140-meter promenade-street running along the center of the ship, a feature never seen before in a ship, but by the first decade of the 21st century commonly found on Royal Caribbean International 's and Color Line 's newer ships. In late 1989, Wärtsilä Marine ,

1375-557: The Silja Line brand separated from Tallink. However, most Silja Line marketing in Finland and Sweden has since the takeover been made under the combined Tallink Silja name. In July 2008, the Tallink ship MS  Galaxy replaced the Silja Festival on the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route. The Galaxy was flagged to Sweden and the text Silja Line was painted on her hull sides. The Tallink logo remained on her funnel and

1430-528: The advertising company Hasan & Partners and the outdoor advertising company JCDecaux produced an interactive advertising campaign based on the Harri Hylje figure at the tram stop outside the Helsinki Central railway station . Citizens could play or take selfies with a remotely controlled Harri Hylje figure shown on a video screen. The device printed gift cards for ferry cruises as a reward. In 2018

1485-561: The cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while others use the ships as means of transportation. Cruiseferry traffic is mainly concentrated in the seas of Northern Europe , especially the Baltic Sea and the North Sea . However, similar ships traffic across the English Channel as well as the Irish Sea , Mediterranean and even on

1540-484: The depression in the early 1990s, forced EffJohn to cut costs, which resulted in Wasa Line and Sally Cruises being merged into Silja Line in 1992. Also in 1992, Svea and Wellamo were modernised and renamed Silja Karneval and Silja Festival , respectively. The year 1993 began with a bang. In January it was reported that Silja Line had chartered MS  Europa , a ship under construction for Rederi AB Slite , one of

1595-550: The ferry business completely, continued operating them under the SuperSeaCat brand. In late 2006 the land organisations of Tallink and Silja Line were reorganised in Finland so that Tallink Finland and Superfast Finland were merged into Oyj Silja Abp, which now took care of all Finnish operations of Tallink/Silja. Shortly afterwards Oyj Silja Abp was renamed into Tallink Silja Oy. Similarly the land organisations in Sweden became Tallink Silja AB. Tallink stated that it intended to keep

1650-584: The largest Estonian-owned ship of the time, the Estonia symbolized the independence that her namesake regained after the collapse of the Soviet Union . MS Estonia consisted of 11 decks, counting from the lowest (0) to the highest (10). Passenger facilities were located on decks 6, 5, 4, and 1, while the crew members occupied decks 8 and 7. Decks 2 and 3 were dedicated to cargo. Estonia sank on Wednesday, 28 September 1994, between about 00:50 and 01:50 ( UTC+2 ) as

1705-552: The largest peace-time maritime disaster on the Baltic Sea, the sinking of MS  Estonia . Silja Europa , Silja Symphony and Finnjet all assisted in searching for survivors from the disaster. Silja Festival was berthed opposite Estonia in Tallinn the day before the sinking, but she was in Helsinki when Estonia sank and did not come to her assistance. The Estonia sinking led to passenger numbers dropping, which did not help Silja's precarious financial situation. The company

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1760-602: The latter part of the 1970s Effoa's old ferries MS  Ilmatar and MS  Regina cruised the Baltic, Norwegian fjords and the Atlantic (from Málaga ) under the marketing name Silja Cruises . In 1979, Svea and Effoa decided again to order new ships for the Helsinki–Stockholm route, which would be the largest ferries of their time. Bore, however, decided not to participate in building new ships, and in 1980 opted to bow out of passenger traffic altogether ( Bore Line still exists as

1815-465: The new ships sported an attractive streamlined superstructure instead of the box-like superstructure of Finlandia and Silvia Regina . 1987 was a very eventful year for Silja. Effoa had purchased the famously fast GTS  Finnjet the previous year and from the beginning of 1987 the prestigious but unprofitable "Queen of the Baltic Sea" joined Silja Line's fleet. Later in the same year Effoa and Johnson Line jointly purchased Rederi Ab Sally , one of

1870-408: The next two decades. FÅA, Bore and Svea soon realised that a similar arrangement would be preferable to their current fragmented image, and in 1970 a big change was carried out within the organisations: Silja Line was established as a joint marketing and coordination company between FÅA, Bore and Svea, and the ships of Siljavarustamo were divided between these three. All Silja Line ships were painted in

1925-492: The owners of Viking Line. Because of financial troubles Slite could not pay for their new ship, and the shipyard decided to charter it to Silja instead. Later in the same year Silja joined forces with Euroway on their Malmö – Travemünde – Lübeck route. The route proved unprofitable and was terminated in spring 1994. MS  Sally Albatross was grounded outside Helsinki in spring 1994 and suffered major damage, which prompted Silja to give up traffic on her. September 1994 saw

1980-473: The owners of their rival Viking Line. The other Viking Line partners forced the new owners to sell their share in Viking, but Effoa and Johnson Line retained Vaasanlaivat / Vasabåtarna , Sally Cruises , Sally Ferries UK and Commodore Cruise Line . Although the purchase of Sally had no effect on Silja Line's traffic for the time being, it proved to be important later. Finally, 1987 saw another order of new ships for

2035-430: The preferred terms were Det Samseglande (roughly 'the ones that sail together'), Finlandsbåten ('Finland's Ships') or Sverigebåten ('Sweden Ships'). In both countries the names of all four companies were usually displayed alongside the group identity. In 1967, three of Silja's rival companies had formed a joint marketing and coordination company, Viking Line , which was to become Silja Line's main rival for

2090-433: The reorganisation Silja had ordered two new ships from Dubigeon-Normandie S.A. of Nantes to begin year-round service between Helsinki and Stockholm (until then the route was summers only). In 1972, these were delivered to FÅA and Svea as MS  Aallotar and MS  Svea Regina , respectively. Passenger numbers on the Helsinki route grew fast and already in 1973 it was decided that the three companies would each order

2145-553: The route between Turku , Mariehamn and Stockholm (during summer 1982 on the Naantali –Mariehamn– Kapellskär route). She was the largest ship to serve on that route at the time. As with many ships, Viking Sally suffered some mishaps during her Viking Line service, being grounded in the Åland Archipelago in May 1984 and suffering some propeller problems in April of the following year. In 1985 she

2200-479: The sale of Silja Line to the Estonian Tallink. The SuperSeaCats trafficking between Helsinki and Tallinn were not included in the sale as their purchase would have given Tallink a dominant market position on the route, which would have resulted in the competition regulators of Finland and Estonia not approving the sale. As a result, Sea Containers, after barely a year before announcing their intention to give up

2255-422: The same colour scheme, with a white hull and superstructure, with Silja Line and the seal's head logo on the side in dark blue. Each company retained their own funnel colours, so it was easy to distinguish which ship belonged to which company even from a distance: Svea's funnels were white with a large black S , FÅA's were black with two white bands, and Bore's were yellow with a blue/white cross. Already before

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2310-471: The seal figure in the company's advertisements had multiple appearances: it swam along the ships, jumped in the water, sometimes even wore sunglasses and looked different depending on the artist in Finnish and Swedish marketing. At the start of the 1970s, when the marketing name Silja Line was taken into use, the Finnish advertising graphic artist Viktor Kaltala and the Swedish Janne Sjöström spent

2365-420: The ship was crossing the Baltic Sea , en route from Tallinn , Estonia, to Stockholm , Sweden. The official report concluded that the bow door had separated from the vessel, pulling the ramp ajar. The ship was already listing because of poor cargo distribution, and the list increased rapidly, flooding the decks and the cabins. Power soon failed altogether, inhibiting search and rescue, and a full-scale emergency

2420-489: The ship). Originally the ship was conceived as a sister ship to Diana II , built in 1979 by the same shipyard for Rederi AB Slite , the third partner in Viking Line. When Sally took over the construction contract, the ship was lengthened from the original length of approximately 137 metres (449 ft) to approximately 155 metres (509 ft) and the superstructure of the ship was largely redesigned. Viking Line received

2475-466: The shipyard building Silja's new cruiseferries, went bankrupt, which led to the ships being delivered later than had been planned. To ensure the delivery of their ferries Effoa and Johnson Line both purchased a part of the new Masa-Yards established to continue shipbuilding in Wärtsilä's former shipyards. The year 1990 saw the realisation of an old vision: Effoa and Johnson Line merged to form EffJohn . As

2530-516: The tune "Un homme et une femme" ("A man and a woman") by the French film composer Francis Lai . The history of Silja Line can be traced back to 1904, when two Finnish shipping companies, Finland Steamship Company ( Finska Ångfartygs Aktiebolaget , FÅA for short) and Steamship Company Bore , started collaborating on Finland–Sweden traffic. The initial collaboration agreement was terminated in 1909, but re-established in 1910. After World War I in 1918,

2585-474: Was also rebuilt with a "duck tail". In 1986, a passenger was murdered on board. In 1987, another murder and attempted murder took place. The latter remains unsolved. Rederi Ab Sally had been experiencing financial difficulties for most of the 1980s. In late 1987, Effoa and Johnson Line , the owners of Viking Line's main rivals Silja Line , bought Sally. As a result of this, SF Line and Rederi AB Slite forced Sally to withdraw from Viking Line. Viking Sally

2640-527: Was announced that Galaxy' s sister ship on the same route, MS Baltic Princess , at the same time would abandon calls at Mariehamn and Stockholm, instead calling at Långnäs and Kapellskär respectively. Tallink states that these changes are temporary and that full service would resume after the market downturn. Ships that are still in use are marked in green. Silja Line has five terminals, of which four are in Finland (two in mainland Finland and two in Åland) and one in Sweden. Finland Sweden Harri Hylje

2695-505: Was appointed to the post. In February 2013 MS  Baltic Princess switched routes with the MS ; Silja Europa , with Baltic Princess now placed on the Turku–Stockholm route and Silja Europa on Helsinki–Tallinn cruises. In July 2022, Tallink announced that MS Galaxy would be withdrawn in September 2022 from the Turku–Stockholm service for at least seven months. One month later, it

2750-539: Was built behind schedule and one of the Turku–Stockholm ships, Wellamo , was transferred to that route until the new ship was complete in November 1990. Also in 1990 Effoa, Johnson Line and Rederi Ab Sally merged into EffJohn. The following spring Silja Star began her service with Wasa Line , another company owned by EffJohn. Her name was changed to Wasa King and she served on routes connecting Vaasa , Finland to Umeå and Sundsvall in Sweden. It has been reported that

2805-469: Was chartered to Rederi AB Slite to continue on her current traffic for the next three years. When her charter ended in April 1990, Viking Sally had an unusual change of service. She was painted in Silja Line 's colours, renamed Silja Star and placed on the same route that she had plied for Viking Line: Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm. The reason for this was that Silja's new ship for Helsinki –Stockholm service

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2860-427: Was not declared for 90 minutes. Of the 989 on board, 137 were rescued. The report criticised primarily the ship's construction, as well as the passive attitude of the crew, failing to notice that water was entering the vehicle deck, delaying the alarm, and providing minimal guidance from the bridge. The sinking was one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th-century. It is one of the deadliest peacetime sinkings of

2915-505: Was now the largest on the Baltic Sea, having finally overtaken Viking Line in 1993, but financially it was not doing well. In 1995, Effjohn changed their name to Silja Oy Ab. Three years later the name was changed again, this time to Neptun Maritime . In 1999, Silja faced two big changes. Tax-free sales ended on routes between EU countries, which forced the Helsinki–Stockholm ships to start calling at Mariehamn in Åland , whose autonomous status within Finland allowed them to stay outside

2970-513: Was originally ordered from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg , Germany by a Norwegian shipping company led by Parley Augustsen with intended traffic between Norway and Germany. At the last moment, the company withdrew their order and the contract went to Rederi Ab Sally , one of the partners in the Viking Line consortium ( SF Line , another partner in Viking Line, had also been interested in

3025-645: Was terminated as unprofitable. By 2004, Sea Containers owned Silja Line entirely. The company was doing well financially and all seemed to be going well. However, Sea Containers' other operations were not as profitable and in late 2005 they announced their intent to give up their ferry division completely; this naturally including selling Silja Line. In preparation for the sale, the unprofitable Finnjet and MS  Silja Opera were taken out of service and transferred under Sea Containers' ownership. Silja Serenade and Symphony were also rebuilt in early 2006 to make them more attractive to potential buyers. May 2006 saw

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