.JPG) Finnhansa at Travemünde in 2008 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Stocznia Gdańska,Gdańsk,Poland |
| Operators | Finnlines,Grimaldi Ferries[1] |
| Succeeded by | Star class |
| Completed | 4 |
| Active | 3 |
| Retired | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ro-paxferry |
| Tonnage | 32,534 GT |
| Length | 183 m (600 ft 5 in) |
| Beam | 29.90 m (98 ft 1 in) |
| Depth | 7.40 m (24 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Speed | 21.3 knots (39.4 km/h; 24.5 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
TheHansa class is a class of fourro-paxferries originally built byStocznia Gdańska,Poland forFinncarriers-Poseidon service. Following a merger of Finncarriers and Poseidon toFinnlines, all ships of this class came to be owned by Finnlines. As of 2013, three ships (Finnpartner andFinntrader) are operated on Finnlines' routes connecting Finland and Sweden to Germany, while two ships (Euroferry Sicilia,Euroferry Olympia) sail withGrimaldi Ferries in the Mediterranean.[1]
TheHansa-class ships were built mainly as freight-carrying vessels, but they also provided a daily passenger-transporting service between Finland and Germany, in direct competition withGTS Finnjet, a former Finnlines ferry then owned bySilja Line. Originally allHansa-class ships were used in traffic fromHelsinki toLübeck.
The first ship of the class, MSFinnhansa, was delivered on 3 August 1994, with MSFinnpartner following on 12 February 1995, MSTranseuropa on 31 May 1995 and MSFinntrader on 26 October 1995. The three Finn-prefixed ships were owned by Finncarriers and registered in Helsinki whileTranseuropa was owned by Poseidon and registered in Lübeck. Following a series of mergers between companies owned by Finnlines and brand simplification, in 2000 the ownership of all the ships passed to Finnlines. In 2001 the German terminus of the route was changed toTravemünde.
Following the delivery of newStar-class ships for the Helsinki–Travemünde service in 2006 and 2007 MSFinntrader and MSFinnpartner were taken off the Finland–Germany service and rebuilt atRemontowa, Poland with bow gates and additional cabin spaces. After the refit, on 19 February 2007,Finntrader began service on Finnlines'Malmö–Travemünde route. At the same time the ship's homeport was changed from Helsinki to Malmö and her original cream/green colour scheme was changed to Finnlines' while/blue.Finnpartner was rebuilt with similar modifications and joinedFinntrader on the Malmö–Travemünde service in July 2007.
In April 2009Finnhansa was sold toGrimaldi Ferries (who have the same parent company as Finnlines), and entered service on theirGenoa–Catania–Malta service under the nameEuroferry Sicilia. Despite this change of ownership the ship at least initially retained its cream/green Finnlines livery with Finnlines company markings.[1]
 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(May 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |