Fjord Line takes delivery of remodeled cruise ferry

Written by Nick Blenkey
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MAY 30, 2014 — Fjord Line took delivery of its remodeled and upgraded cruise ferry MS Oslofjord on Friday after it was rebuilt by the STX Rauma shipyard in Finland for service on a new line between Sandefjord, Norway and Strömstad, Sweden.

Now the crew will hone their routines and fine-tune the ship before Oslofjord enters regular service on 20 June, sailing for the first time with passengers and vehicles across the waters of the Oslofjord.

The ship was originally delivered as the MS Bergen by Norwegian shipbuilder Fosen.

Now called the MS Oslofjord, the ship is 134 meters long, 24 meters wide and has a capacity of about 1,800 passengers and 370 motor vehicles. The new interior was designed by Oslo architects Falkum-Hansen Designs, which was also engaged in the planning and design of Fjord Line’s two new cruise ferries

On behalf of Fjord Line, Marcus Pettersson, director for the Sandefjord-Strömstad line, thanked the management and staff of the Finnish shipyard for their hard work in modernizing the ship, which served the company’s western Norway and Denmark line for many years until late 2013.

The rebuild, with a contract value of about 30 million euro (250 million Norwegian kroner), included tearing out most cabins and replacing them with public areas for duty free shopping, plus an array cafeteria and restaurant offerings.

“Now the MS Oslofjord looks like a brand new ship, and we are looking forward to introducing her to our guests, truck drivers and freight shippers,” says Mr. Pettersson. Capacity of 1,800 passengers

STX Finland’s project manager Kari Toivonen called the conversion project “extremely extensive and demanding.”

“The basic design needed to be reviewed almost totally and the project was executed on a turnkey basis. We are very satisfied about being able to hand over this totally renewed ferry to Fjord Line,” he says.

The crossing between Sandefjord and Strömstad will take about 2.5 hours each way, with two round trips a day scheduled. The morning departure from Sandefjord is currently scheduled for 6:45 a.m., while the afternoon departure will be at 1:00 p.m.

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