Page 76: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1986)

BIRKA LINE

CRUISE SHIP

DELIVERED BY

VALMET

Valmet Corporation's Helsinki

Shipyard recently delivered its first passenger vessel, the Birka Princess, built for Birka Line Ab of Marie- hamn, Finland. The new liner, which replaces the ferry Prinsessan that was built by Wartsila in 1966 and modernized in 1980, will oper- ate unique 24-hour cruises from

Stockholm to Mariehamn on the island of Aland, situated between the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Both- nia.

Unlike the numerous passenger/ car ferries operating in the Baltic, the Birka Princess is a true cruise liner. She has only a small car deck at the stern that will accommodate six motor coaches and 50 private cars, or 75 cars, with access via a side ramp.

The new liner has an overall length of 469 feet, beam of 81 feet, depth to Deck 11 of 100 feet, and draft of 18.4 feet. Main propulsion is provided by four Wartsila-Vasa die- sel engines with a total output of 23,600 bhp at 750 rpm, driving two

KaMeWa controllable-pitch, highly skewed propellers via Valmet/Renk reduction gears. Cruising speed is 18 knots.

The accommodations, which pro- vide for 1,500 passengers in 500 cab- ins, are of unusually high quality.

This was achieved by skillful detail work, careful selection of materials, unique lighting systems, and other refinements. Passengers can view the impressive Stockholm archipel- ago and the Aland Sea through spe- cial panorama windows in the a-la- carte restaurant and dancing res- taurant aft, as well as in the cocktail lounge and one of the large confer- ence rooms forward.

The principal design considera- tions for the Birka Princess were economical operation, safety, easy maintenance, and a high level of automation. Machinery is con- trolled by Valmet's Damatic ship automation system. The company's other units are also well represented among the suppliers; the Tampere

Works provided the six passenger and service elevators, and the reduc- tion gears were supplied by the

Rautpohja Works.

In cooperation with the Finnish company Rakennusvalmiste Oy,

Valmet developed a totally new cab- in construction method, with cabin wall elements completely fabricated at the factory. The units were fitted with all needed details, including furniture fastenings, plumbing, and electrical wiring. The partition wall between cabins is comprised of two

BIRKA PRINCESS

Built by: VALMET Helsinki Shipyard

SPACIOUS ARCADES DANCING SALOON/SHOWROOM

SEATING 500 PERSONS

FUEL SAVING HEAVY

FUEL MACHINERY OF

UNIFORM TYPE

ENGINE CONTROL ROOM

WITH THE VALMET DAMATIC

MARINE AUTOMATION SYSTEM

PROPELLER AND HULL DESIGN

ENSURING VERY LOW

VIBRATION LEVEL

SIDE RAMP TO THE GARAGE

WITH DIRECT ACCESS TO THE

SERVICE AND PROVISION ROOM UFTS

GARAGE FOR 80 CARS,

ALTERNATIVELY

SO CARS AND 6 COACHES

M/S BIRKA PRINCESS

BALTIC CRUISE UNER FOR BIRKA UNE AB.

MARIEHAMN. FINLAND

LENGTH OA 143.0 M

BREADTH (MOULDED) 247 M

DRAUGHT 5.6 M

DEPTH TO DECK 11 305 M

MAX. SPEED 215 KNOTS

CRUISING SPEED 18 KNOTS

Mi OUTPUT 17,600 KW

AE. OUTPUT 5455 KW

RASSENGER CAPACITY 1500

MULTIPURPOSE CONFERENCE CENTER FOR 440 PERSONS -16 CONFERENCE ROOMS - TEAM WORK ROOMS - AUDITORIUM -

GRILL RESTAURANT

FOR 250 PERSONS

PASSENGER CABINS

FEATURING NEW CABIN

CONSTRUCTION METHOD

DEVELOPED BY VALMET

A LA CARTE

RESTAURANT WITH

SEATS fOR 260

PERSONS

MINIMUM RESISTANCE HULL FORM WITH

LOW WAVE FORMATION

RECREATION CENTER -POOL - JACUZZI - 3 SAUNAS - SOLARIUM - POOLSIDE BAR FOR •i'

LUXURY SUITES WITH

SEPARATE DAY AND

BEDROOMS

COCKTAIL BAR/DISCO

FOR 150 PERSONS 1 76 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News