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The hull assembly of Tallink's new fast ferry, Megastar, commenced on February 9 at the Meyer Turku shipyard with a traditional keel-laying ceremony.

The event was witnessed by over a hundred guests from Meyer Turku, Tallink and classification society Bureau Veritas. Lucky coins were placed beneath the keel of the ship - later the coins will be retrieved and kept on board the ship for good luck.

Meyer Turku's CEO, Jan Meyer, remarked: "Over a year we have been designing Tallink's fast ferry in good collaboration with the ship owner to feature our next generation LNG-propulsion and a new architecture for the public spaces. In addition, we have been pre-producing parts for the ship. In shipbuilding, constant development is the norm and there is very little time for tradition. Still there are these special moments in shipbuilding which deserve that we pause and look back at our work. Today we are starting to assemble the pre-produced parts and the ship begins to look like a ship."

Janek Stalmeister, CEO of AS Tallink Grupp, said: "As this is our very first LNG vessel with upgrades in so many areas, we celebrate every step taking us closer to her delivery next year. We can't wait to bring this magnificent ship to our passengers."

The Megastar is scheduled to be delivered at the start of 2017 and to operate along the Tallinn-Helsinki route. It will use LNG as fuel, but will also be able to run on marine distillates.

In addition to its environmentally friendly LNG propulsion, the Megastar will have a new hull designed by Meyer Turku, which is expected to result in much less water resistance and improved sailing in icy conditions.

The vessel will have a length of 212 metres, a service speed of 27 knots and a gross tonnage of 49,000. It has been designed to comply with the new and stricter emission regulations for Emission Control Areas (ECAs), including the Baltic Sea.

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.