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50-461: Wasaline , previously Oy Vaasa-Umeå Ab (1948–1965), Vaasa-Umeå AB (1965–1979), Oy Vaasanlaivat – Vasabåtarna Ab (1979–1991) and Wasa Line (1991–1993) are different names for the Finnish shipping company that ceased trading in 1993 when it merged into Silja Line . Since 2013 the name is being used by a new company that operates between Vaasa (homebase) and Umeå. In 1948, Rederi Ab Vasa-Umeå

100-532: 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,

150-663: A complete list. List of ship companies The following articles list companies that operate ships : [REDACTED] Media related to Shipping companies at Wikimedia Commons 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

200-466: 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

250-600: 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,

300-509: 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

350-532: 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

400-441: 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

450-549: 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

500-459: 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

550-460: 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

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600-561: 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

650-592: 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

700-622: 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

750-501: 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

800-524: 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

850-430: The Finnish forest industry giant Enso-Gutzeit , became the largest owner of Rederi Ab Vasa-Umeå. With funds from the new owner, the company could purchase their first ship capable of carrying cars, SS Korsholm III . In 1962, the company was delivered its only newbuild, MS Vaasa , a freighter that spent most of its career in the company chartered elsewhere, until it was sold in 1964. In 1964, MS  Wasa Express ,

900-533: 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 ,

950-564: 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

1000-542: 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

1050-806: The ageing Wasa Express were first introduced in 2016. Construction agreement between Kvarken Link (the company founded to run the newbuild project) with Rauma Marine Constructions shipyard was signed in January 2021. The new ferry was named Aurora Botnia after a naming contest. Construction began in Rauma , Finland in September 2019. The ferry was launched in September 2020 and sea trials began in May 2021. Aurora Botnia made its maiden voyage between Vaasa and Umeå on August 28, 2021. Ships operated by current Wasaline: Ships on this route operated by previous companies. Not

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1100-526: The city of Vaasa and the municipality of Umeå founded a joint shipping company, NLC Ferry Ab Oy, to ensure the continuation of ferry traffic between the two cities. The company acquired the rights to the Wasaline brand from RG Line and started operations with the ferry Wasa Express . Over the next years, Wasaline established itself as a reliable and valuable cargo carrier between Finland and Sweden and passenger numbers began rising once again. Plans to replace

1150-447: The company had considered ordering a newbuild of the same class in the early 70's, but had decided it would be too expensive. Enso-Gutzeit became the sole owner of Vaasa-Umeå in 1979, and changed the company's name to Vaasanlaivat – Vasabåtarna (The Vaasa Boats). The same year Wasa Express' sister ship MS Botnia Express was added to the company's fleet. In 1981, the company chartered MS Wasa Star from Rederi AB Gotland , bringing

1200-463: The company's first genuine car and passenger ferry was purchased from Sessan Linjen . Wasa Express started a trend of buying ships from Sessan Linjen, as well as the trend of giving ships names ending with Express. In 1965, the company name was changed into the bilingual form Oy Vaasa – Umeå Ab . Two years later, with the purchase of the MS ; Botnia Express , operation between Vaasa and Sundsvall

1250-489: 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

1300-556: 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

1350-513: The first large ferry to the Gulf of Bothnia. Unfortunately there were not enough passengers to support such a large ship and she was laid up in autumn 1982, later subchartered to Karageorgios Line in Greece. In 1982 Enso-Gutzeit decided to bow out of the shipping business, and Vaasanlaivat was sold to Rederi Ab Sally (most of their other operations passed to Effoa ). 1986 saw the purchase of one of

1400-430: The future of Vaasanlaivat. In 1989, Vaasanlaivat acquired Jakob Lines, hence starting to traffic between Jakobstad and Kokkola in Finland and Skellefteå in Sweden. Officially Jakob Lines survived until 1991, but by that time all their ships had the funnel markings of Vaasanlaivat. In 1990, Vaasanlaivat's owners merged into EffJohn . 1991 saw the company's name changed into a more international form, Wasa Line , and

1450-612: 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

1500-611: 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

1550-461: The longest operating ships on the Gulf of Botnia, when MS Fennia was purchased from Jakob Lines . A part of the payment was made in the form of MS Fenno Express , a small ship better suited for Jakob Lines' traffic. By this time, Sally was doing rather badly financially, and in 1987 the company was purchased by Effoa and Johnson Line, the owners of Silja Line . The purchase had no immediate effect, although it did eventually prove decisive to

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1600-465: 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

1650-408: 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

1700-492: 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

1750-477: 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

1800-430: 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

1850-409: The purchase of the new MS Wasa King from their sister company Silja Line. The following year Wasa King was joined by another former Silja ferry, MS Wasa Queen . Wasa Line proved to be short-lived however, as by 1993 EffJohn were forced to reorganise their operations in order to save money, and Wasa Line was merged into Silja Line. Silja continued to operate on Kvarken, but the line to Sundsvall

1900-433: 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

1950-487: 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

2000-422: 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

2050-481: 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

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2100-471: 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

2150-520: 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,

2200-527: 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

2250-404: 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

2300-709: Was cancelled in 1996, and after the termination of tax-free sales on intra- European Union travel, Silja bowed out of traffic in the area altogether in the year 2000. For a while there was no traffic across Kvarken, until spring 2001 when the newly found RG Line purchased the Fennia from Silja Line and started up traffic from Vaasa to Umeå. RG Line filed for bankruptcy in November 2011. The Swedish company Botnia Link operated routes between Vaasa-Umeå and Vaasa-Härnosand. Operations stopped in February 2002. In January 2012,

2350-642: Was founded to start passenger traffic across Kvarken , the narrowest part of the Gulf of Bothnia . On 28 May, the company's first ship MS Turisten made its first journey from Vaasa in Finland to Umeå in Sweden. People living on both sides of Kvarken are predominantly Swedish-speaking, as were the company founders, hence the company originally only had a name in Swedish and ships were named in Swedish. The company's first ships were used steamers , only capable of summer traffic. In 1958, Merivienti Oy , subsidiary of

2400-462: Was launched. In 1970, a line from Vaasa to Örnsköldsvik was opened. The following year the company expanded further, opening a line between Pori and Sundsvall, however it proved unprofitable and was cancelled the following year. In 1976, Vaasa-Umeå purchased MS Viking 3 from Rederi Ab Sally , and reused the name Wasa Express for her. During the following decade three of her sister ships would also find their way into Vaasa-Umeå's fleet. In fact

2450-505: 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

2500-645: 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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