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Tallink has confirmed that its new LNG-fuelled fast ferry, due to be delivered in 2017, is to be named Megastar.

The name was chosen amongst 21,550 name proposals submitted via a public contest. On February 9, 2016, the keel for Megastar is to be laid in Meyer Turku Yard, which will commence construction of the ship in dry dock.

According to Janek Stalmeister, chairman of the board of AS Tallink Grupp, the vessel's name enables the business to maintain unity amongst the names in the Tallink Shuttle fast ferry family. "As Megastar will be among the largest of her kind in the world, this name expresses perfectly the characteristics of the ship. It is also easy to pronounce in Estonian, Finnish and other languages. As there were so numerous entries with that name, we also see it as the wish of many of our passengers," said Stalmeister.

The first person to enter the name 'Megastar' in the competition was Janar from Estonia, who will receive the prize of two tickets for the ship's first official trip. In total, over 300 entries with the name Megastar were registered in the contest, making it one of the most popular names suggested. There were 14,200 entries from Finland, 5,300 entries from Estonia and 2,050 entries through the international website.

Construction of the new EUR 230 million LNG-powered fast ferry started at the Meyer Turku Yard in Finland on August 4, 2015. The keel of Megastar is to be laid on February 9. It is scheduled to be delivered at the start of 2017 and to operate along the Tallinn-Helsinki route.

The new environmentally friendly ship uses LNG as fuel and will comply with the new and stricter emission regulations for the ECA areas, including the Baltic Sea. The ship, with a gross tonnage of 49,000 and service speed of 27 knots, is also expected to bring improvements in energy efficiency. The hull form is designed to minimize the flow resistance and ensure that the ship operates well in ice conditions. Efficient and fast cargo turnaround in ports has been taken into account in the design of the new-generation fast ferry.

AS Tallink Grupp is the leading passenger and cargo transportation service provider in the northern region of the Baltic Sea. The company owns 17 vessels and operates under the brands Tallink and Silja Line on 6 different routes.

Meyer Turku Oy is one of Europe's leading shipbuilding companies, owned by Meyer Werft (70%) and the Finnish government through Teollisuussijoitus (30%). The firm's shipyard in Turku specializes in building cruise ships, car and passenger ferries and special vessels.