The Baltic ferry Viking XPRS has undergone a major refurbishment and returned from the shipyard to service on the Helsinki–Tallinn route on 7 February. The on-board shop has been renovated from floor to ceiling, creating more space for fragrances and beverages.
A new restaurant with new interiors has also bee created. Technological updates have been made which will reduce fuel consumption.
After three weeks at the shipyard she will now offer passengers what is in many ways a new cruise experience. The vessel has sailed under the Finnish flag for almost two years and has proved ever popular on this highly competitive route.
Viking XPRS offers 15 weekly departures from the two ports and serves the most passengers of all of Viking Line vessels. Last year, the total number of passengers on Viking XPRS was more than 1.6 million.
“There is great demand for trips to Tallinn, and it’s easy and advantageous to make a spontaneous trip with XPRS. More than a third of passengers take their car along on the journey. There are many families that sail, especially in peak season and during the holidays. XPRS is also a popular conference vessel, and the percentage of group and conference passengers has increased in recent years,” says Ninna Suominen, Head of Marketing at Viking Line.
During the three weeks at the shipyard, the biggest change made was in the vessel’s tax-free shop, which was enlarged during the renovation and provided with more functional spaces. The shop also has a new area for tastings.
At the shipyard, the vessel’s interiors were updated in a bright, modern, fresh style. The entrance was completely overhauled, carpets were replaced and cabin interiors were updated, with reupholstered sofas and new curtains.
Viking XPRS, which was delivered in 2008 from what was then the Aker Yards shipyard in Helsinki, was dry-docked this time at Oresund Dry Docks in Landskrona, in southern Sweden. The biggest and most costly job involved maintenance work to update the vessel’s technology.
The most significant technological update is the installation of flow-control mechanisms, which reduces the vessel’s resistance. This flow-control technology, supplied by the Finnish engineering company Elomatic, reduces fuel consumption and improves travel comfort through reduced vibration.
The vertical sections of the vessel’s bottom were also sand-blasted and painted. With these updates, Viking Line aims to reduce fuel consumption on the vessel’s service to Tallinn by about five per cent.
Technology upgrades and maintenance over the vessel’s entire life cycle are a crucial factor in reducing total emissions.
Viking Line’s vessels are dry-docked twice within a five-year period, in accordance with International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations. Smaller-scale maintenance work is carried out on a regular basis while the vessels are in service.
