Finnish operator Viking Line’s 2008-built ro-pax ‘Viking XPRS’ has undergone a complete refit and is shortly to resume service on the Helsinki–Tallinn route.
The three-week docking at Oresund Dry Docks in Landskrona, southern Sweden, involved renovation of the interior spaces and passenger facilities, but the biggest and most costly job involved updating 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 comfort through reduced vibration. The vertical sections of the vessel’s bottom were sand-blasted and painted. With these updates, Viking Line aims to reduce fuel consumption on the vessel’s service to Tallinn by about 5%. Viking Line considers technology upgrades and maintenance over the vessel’s entire life cycle to be a crucial factor in reducing total emissions.
Viking Line’s vessels are dry-docked twice within a five-year period, in accordance with IMO regulations. Smaller-scale maintenance work is carried out on a regular basis while the vessels are in service.
Viking XPRS intendant Ronny Hagelberg said: “The dry-docking and planning for this are a major joint project that involves a large number of our shipboard and land-based staff as well as specialists in various fields. During the planning phase, we listen very closely to the requests of staff members and customers. I can hardly wait until we get to enjoy the end result together with our passengers – an even more pleasant and more functional Viking XPRS.”
Image: ‘Viking XPRS’, upgraded to save fuel and emissions (source: Viking Line)
