LNG fueled cruise ferry carries its four millionth passenger

MAY 17, 2016 — The world’s first large passenger ship to be LNG fueled, the Viking Line cruise ferry M/S Viking Grace, marked a major milestone on its evening departure last Friday when it embarked its four millionth passenger.

The M/S Viking Grace, which went into service in January 2013 and which sails the Turku, Finland, to Stockholm, Sweden, route, is still the only passenger ship on the Baltic Sea that operates on liquefied natural gas. In addition to carrying up to 2,800 passengers, it has1,275 lane meters of RO/RO cargo capacity and 1,000 lane meters of car capacity.

To celebrate the four-million passenger milestone, all the passengers on board were treated to a glass of sparkling wine and the four millionth passenger also got an upgraded cabin, dinner in the ship’s Nordic restaurant Oscar à la Carte and lunch in its Buffet Aurora.

“It is a fine achievement for a vessel to reach four million passengers in just three years,” says Kaj Takolander, Viking Line’s Head of Sales and Marketing in Finland, the Baltics and Russia.

Delivered from STX Finland’s Turku shipyard (now Meyer Turku) the Viking Grace is a twin shaft diesel-electric vessel powered by four four Wärtsilä 8L50DF main engines. As well as operating on LNG it incorporates a number of other environmentally friendly features that won it the 2014 Skål Sustainable Tourism Award.

But it’s probably not just its greenness that has made the ship a success with passengers.

“It is, after all, the most beautiful vessel on the Baltic Sea,” says Mr. Takolander, “combining environmentally sound technology and quiet comfortable travel with top-quality restaurants, interiors planned by award-winning designer Vertti Kivi, a unique range of shopping and modernized spa facilities.”