Polish Baltic Shipping’s new ferry Varsovia set off on her maiden voyage on the Polferries service from Swinoujście to Ystad on 27 July 2024.
The ship has just been completed by the Italian shipyard Cantiere Navale Visentini and has been chartered to the Polish shipowner. The contract is for ten years, and PZB can buy it back after six years of operation.
Varsovia brings new facilities to the Swinoujście-Ystad route and an increase in capacity, as the vessel has 3,775 lane metres of vehicle space and can carry up to 976 passengers with 230 cabins, making Varsovia the largest in the owner’s fleet and one of the largest ferries sailing out of Swinoujście.
Facilities on board include restaurants, a bar, a shop, a children’s area and an entertainment corner. The ship measures 216.2m by 280.2m and has a total power output of 23,160kW.
Additional changes to the Polferries fleet include the decommissioning of the ferry Baltivia, and the chartering of Cracovia, for one year, to newly-formed Algerian shipowner Nouris El Bahr Ferries, who will operate the vessel on the Marseille-Bidjayaline route. Cracovia strengthened the Polish Baltic Shipping fleet in 2017, becoming one of the operator’s most recognisable ferries.
Report by Michal Koszela