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Shipbuilder Meyer Turku Oy has confirmed that the start of construction of Tallink's "new generation" liquefied natural gas(LNG)-powered fast ferry for the Tallinn to Helsinki route was celebrated on August 4 at Meyer Turku's shipyard in Turku, Finland.

The new ferry will be approximately 212 metres in length with a gross tonnage of 49,000 and a service speed of 27 knots. The ship is designed to carry 2,800 passengers. It is expected to be delivered at the start of 2017.

The new eco-friendly vessel is to use LNG as fuel and thus will comply with the new stricter emission regulations for Emission Control Areas (ECAs), including the Baltic Sea.

According to Meyer Turku, "the highly innovative hull form minimizes the hydrodynamic flow resistance, which together with other innovative solutions will bring significant improvement in energy efficiency". Efficient and fast cargo turnaround in ports has been taken into account in the design of the new generation fast ferry, the shipbuilder said.

Janek Stalmeister, CEO of AS Tallink Grupp, said that the new shuttle vessel will pave the way for the next era of fast ferry services on the Tallinn-Helsinki route. "The environmental performance and many innovative solutions in the technical and service areas will be benchmarks for the market and also our shuttle service in general," remarked Stalmeister.

Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku Oy, commented: "With the new Tallink fast ferry we are taking the next step in the technical development of the LNG ferries - all tailored to the specific needs of our customer. For the Turku yard, this order boosts our production volume in 2016 by 30 percent above the 2015 level."