GTS Finnjet - Concept and Construction

Concept and Construction

In the beginning of the 1970s a study was made about the future development of passenger numbers on the ferry service between Finland and West Germany. The study projected notable growth, with 300,000 to 800,000 passenger projected to make a crossing in 1980, with the likeliest number projected at 500,000. At the time Finnlines and Finland Steamship Company were maintaining a joint service on the route with two ships built during the latter half of the 1960s (MS Finnhansa (1966) and MS Finlandia (1967), respectively), both capable of transporting a maximum of 100,000 passengers per year. Based on the estimates made Enso-Gutzeit, one of the owners of Finnlines, begun planning a new, larger and faster ferry for the service. Initial plans made in 1971 called for a ship with 800 passenger berths (the Finnhansa had only 300 at the time), but these were abandoned in favour of an even larger ship. The plans for the new ship, codenamed Finnjet, were developed within the next two years.

Project Finnjet was developed into a much larger ship than the Finnhansa or Finlandia. Finnjet was to have 1,500 passenger berths and the ship would be powered by two gas turbines instead of the traditional diesel engines. Thanks to the gas turbines she would have a service speed of 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph) (compared to the 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) of the Finnhansa), making it possible to cut the passage time between Helsinki and Travemünde from 36 hours to just 22 hours. Advanced loading systems developed for the ship meant her port turnaround time would be just two hours. These factors combined meant that Finnjet would have a yearly passenger capacity of over 300,000.

As a temporary measure to cover for the rising passenger numbers Thomesto Oy, another member of the Finnlines consortium, purchased the 1966-built MS Finnpartner (1973) and placed it in Finnlines traffic in 1973. On 5 December 1973 Enso-Gutzeit placed an order for project Finnjet with the Wärtsilä Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki, Finland. The cost of the ship has been estimated at being between 200–300 million Finnish markka, making her the largest investment made to Finnish tourism by that time. At the time Finnjet was in fact planned as the first in a pair of identical sisters. The build contract included an option for a second vessel that was offered to the Finland Steamship Company as a part of the joint service agreement between Finland SS Co and Finnlines, but Finland SS Co decided not to utilise the option.

Following further refining of the plans to the ship by the shipyard, the keel of Project Finnjet was laid on 20 May 1975. In a traditional ceremony, coins were thrown onto the keel to wish the ship good luck. These coins were then welded on the keel. By 1975 it was clear that the growth predictions based on which the plans of Finnjet had been made had been overtly positive. At the time Finnlines and Finland Steamship Company were negotiating the formation of a joint subsidiary for their cargo-carrying operations. To ensure the success of Finnjet, Enso-Gutzeit and Finnlines were eager to induce Finland Steamship Company to withdraw from the Finland–Germany passenger services completely. This was successful, and as a part of the agreement of forming Finncarriers as a joint subsidiary of Finnlines and Finland Steamship Company the latter withdrew from the Finland–Germany passenger service, selling their Finlandia to Finnlines (in exhange for the ro-ro freighter MS Finncarrier).

The construction of Finnjet was not without mishaps, as on 24 March 1976 a fire broke out in the bow thruster room but was quickly brought under control. On 28 March 1976 the ship was launched from drydock without ceremonies. As "Finnjet" was only a working name given to the ship, other names were considered by Enso-Gutzeit as the final name of the vessel. Naming the ship after Urho Kekkonen, President of the Republic of Finland at the time, was considered. Eventually the project name Finnjet was chosen as the official name of the ship.

Coinciding with the work done on the ship itself work was carried out in the Port of Helsinki in order to accommodate the large ship. The Kustaanmiekka strait leading to Helsinki South Harbour had to be widened so that Finnjet could safely sail through it. A former warehouse at Katajanokka, Helsinki was rebuilt as a ferry terminal that would be exclusively used by Finnjet (today the same terminal is used by Viking Line).

Finnjet undertook her first test-drive between 9 and 12 December 1976. Testing the gas turbines of the ship revealed that the original hull structure could not withstand the water pressure caused by the 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph) service speed, and on returning to the shipyard various parts of the ship had to be strengthened. On 1 March 1977 the ship sailed from Helsinki to Kiel in Germany, where she was drydocked and her bottom painted. On the return voyage from Kiel she also visited Travemünde for the first time. The second test cruise of the ship was carried out on 14 March 1977. On 28 April 1977 Finnjet was delivered to Finnlines in a ceremony at the Finnjet terminal in Katajanokka, Helsinki. The ship was officially christened as a part of the same ceremony by Annikki Mattila, the wife of Enso-Gutzeit CEO Olavi J. Mattila. The actual christening ceremony took place on the car deck of the ship.