MS Golden Princess (2000) - Concept and Construction

Concept and Construction

During the early 1960s Finland Steamship Company's service between Finland, Denmark and West Germany was operated by ageing steamers with no car decks, the newest of which had been built in 1927. Finnlines had started competing with Finland SS Co on the service to West Germany in 1962 with the car/passenger ferry Hansa Express. Two notably larger ferries—Finnhansa and Finnpartner—were under construction, due to enter service on the service with Finnlines in 1966. In order to compete with Finnlines' state-of-the-art ferries, Finland SS Co placed an order for an even larger car/passenger ferry with Wärtsilä Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki, Finland on 8 April 1965. The new ship could accommodate 1000 passengers, with berths for 647 of them. In keeping with the liner tradition the berths wede divided between first and tourist class. The same shipyard was in fact building the new Finnlines vessels at the time Finland SS Co placed their order.

The concept of the new Finland SS Co vessel, eventually to be named Finlandia, was essentially the same as that of Ilmatar, built by the Wärtsilä shipyard for Finland SS Co in 1964. A notable exception was that the new Finlandia would be built with a full-length car-deck that could be accessed from gates both in the stern and bow, whereas the Ilmatar had a smaller, side-loadable car deck. The Finlandia's large size meant she could replace all three steamers operated by Finland SS Co on the service to West Germany.

The Finlandia was launched on 25 August 1966 and named on the same date by Mrs. Louise Ehrnrooth, wife of Finnish banker Göran Ehrnrooth. She was completed on 10 May 1967, and delivered to Finland Steamship Company on the same date on a cruise outside the Harmaja lighthouse in Helsinki. Finnish president Urho Kekkonen and his wife were invited guests on board the delivery cruise, which was made in heavy fog.