The two new car and passenger ferries will replace two older ships in the same fleet : the Spirit of Tasmania I and Spirit of Tasmania II . Both of these were also built by RMC shipyard in Finland .
Before the Spirit of Tasmania ferries , RMC has built several technologically advanced commercial vessels . In 2022 , RMC delivered to Tallink Silja line the energy-efficient car and passenger ferry MyStar that operates the route between Tallinn ( Estonia ) and Helsinki . In 2021 , RMC completed Wasaline ’ s car and passenger ferry Aurora Botnia that has won international awards for its top-notch sustainability .
Currently , along with the two Spirit of Tasmania ferries , RMC is in the process of constructing the first multi-role corvettes for the Finnish Navy . The shipbuilding for the first of these was started on 30 October , 2023 . The project consists of four vessels and will be continued until the year 2029 .
CEO and President of the RMC shipyard , Mika Nieminen .
BOTH SHIPS EQUIPPED WITH FOUR ENGINES
The new Spirit of Tasmania ships have a gross tonnage of 48,000 . The ships have a length of 212 metres and a width of 31 metres .
Each ship is equipped with four Wärtsilä 9 cylinder turbocharge dual-fuel engines , operating on LNG and diesel fuel . These engines produce 10,305 kilowatts ( kW ) of power each . The ships ’ propellers are twin-variable pitch propellers . Average speed will be 26 knots .
Both new vessels have a capacity of 1 800 passengers . Each vessel features 301 new cabins , 118 standard recliners and 47 business recliners .
Shipbuilding work for the Spirit of Tasmania IV was started on 28 February , 2022 .
Later on , the keel laying of this ship was celebrated at Rauma shipyard in October 2022 .
The keel laying ceremony for Spirit of Tasmania V took place at the RMC shipyard on May 17 , 2023 .
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