The German web site FINNJETweb reports that Club Cruise has acquired the former Silja Line ferry Finnjet for conversion to a cruise ship called Da Vinci by T. Mariotti in Genoa.
According to the report, the ship has already been renamed and will sail to Italy within a week.
Finnjet’s owners, former Silja Line parent Sea Containers, filed for restructuring under Chapter XI of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in 2006. Club Cruise already purchased a ship from Sea Containers in 2006; Walrus, originally Crown Monarch, is now Jules Verne and following a season for Vision Cruises is preparing to become Alexander von Humboldt for Phoenix Reisen.
Finnjet was built for Finnlines for Helsinki-Travemünde service in 1977. She was sold to Silja Line in 1986. When built, she was the largest ferry in the world, at 24,605 GT, and also the fastest, with a speed of 30.5 knots, powered by two gas turbines. Today she is 32,940 GT, with two diesels in addition to the turbines, and has 1,066 lower berths. A conversion for cruising would cause changes in her tonnage and passenger capacity and almost certainly result in her fuel-hungry gas turbines being removed.
Click here for the full report from FINNJETweb.
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