The sale of the car ferry 'Isabella' to Tallink subsidiary Hansalink for €30 million (USD39 million) was announced in early April. This surprised many observers, as Viking Line had already stated that the ship would start on the Helsinki-Tallinn route to support VL's fast ferry 'Viking XPRS' during the summer's peak period from May to August.
Built in 1989 in Split, when Croatia was still a part of Yugoslavia, the MS 'Isabella' and her sister 'Amorella' both operated the Turku-Stockholm route, a twice-daily service with each leg lasting 11 hours and a turnaround of just 60 minutes in either port.
With a full capacity of 2,480 passengers and up to 400 vehicles, as well as 900 metres (approx 52 trucks) of wheeled cargo, this one hour turnaround was no mean feat. But Viking Line and (Tallink subsidiary) Silja's two ships performed the task daily to provide a crossover transport service for both cargo and passengers.
However, once the next-generation LNG ferry 'Viking Grace' was ordered, with the intention of placing her on the route between the Finnish west coast city and the Swedish capital, the 'Isabella' was the unlucky vessel chosen to be made redundant when the option for a sister for the 'Viking Grace' was not exercised.
Thus, VL decided to put her on the world's second-biggest ferry circuit between Finland and Estonia. The company had even made a timetable and marketed the ship, selling 20,000 tickets by sale time. Although the ship had been listed as for sale since 2009, no serious offers had been made.
"The sale of the 'Isabella' has been part of our long-term strategy and has now become reality," said VL CEO Mikael Backman.
"For VL, the Helsinki-Tallinn route is extremely significant and the aim is to find still more sustainable options for the development of Baltic Sea travel in the future.
"It is without question unfortunate that the time of the sale took place so very near to the beginning of (this summer's temporary) operations. This is naturally very regrettable for our own staff who have given their valuable input towards the planning and implementation of this summer season," Mr Backman concluded.
Viking Line will not only refund tickets bought in advance, but compensate bookings with a free voyage voucher. Furthermore, the 'Isabella's sale to one of VL's chief rivals, which is also Estonia's largest privately-owned company operating on the Helsinki – Tallinn route, raised further questions regarding if the ship will instead be deployed on Tallink's Stockholm-Riga route, replacing the 'Silja Festival', a vessel which is only five years older and has similar capacities.
Tallink's press release stated that the 'Isabella' "would meet increased demand", raising more questions about the deal's logic. It seems that, for Viking Line, €30 million was to good to refuse. The 'Silja Festival's fate remains unknown, and it remains to be seen if VL is on the lookout for another second-hand vessel, but the refunding of the 'Isabella's bookings appears to rule this out.
John Pagni
