Silja Line
Oy Siljavarustamo - Ab Siljarederiet Ab
Page 1: The Early Years 1957-60
This page is the first in a series devoted to postcards and photographs of ships working under the Silja Line banner. In many cases, the ships will be dealt with in more detail on pages devoted to the subsidiary companies, but these pages give an overview of Silja operations. The
Silja Line - Header Page
lists the ships on all
Silja Line
pages. Other Silja Line Pages:
Header Page
,
Page 1
,
Page 2
,
Page 3
,
Page 4
,
Page 5
An alphabetical list of ships
shown on this page is shown below. Below this is the
Fleet List - Part 1
in chronological order.
The
Finland SS Co
was formed in 1893, and the
Bore SS Co
in 1897, and the two lines first co-operated on Finland-Sweden service in 1904. A new agreement was made in 1918, which also included
Rederi AB Svea
of Stockholm. The co-operation between the three companies continued to work successfully, and new ships were delivered in the 1950s. These were still conventional passenger ships, with side-loading arrangements for a small number of cars. The capacity of these ships soon proved to be inadequate, and a joint fourth company was formed, the Silja Line (Oy Siljavarustamo or Ab Siljarederiet Ab) in 1957. Whilst operations began with the elderly
Silja
, two purpose-built modern car ferries, the
Skandia (1)
and
Nordia
were delivered for the Turku/Åbo-Mariehamn-Norrtälje route in 1962 and 1963. Despite these developments, each company added a further traditional ship in the 1960s, the
Bore
,
Svea Jarl
and
Ilmatar
, for service on the original routes from Stockholm to Turku and Helsinki. All subsequent deliveries and acquisitions were true car ferries, Silja Line receiving the
Holmia
,
Fennia
and
Botnia
, between 1965 and 1967.
Ships on This Page:-
Aallotar (2)
(1959-1971)
Birger Jarl
(1959-1971)
Bore
(1960-1976)
Bore III
(1959-1971)
Regin
(1960)
Silja
(1957-1961)
Warjo
(1957-1964
Silja Line Pages:-
Silja Line - Header Page
Silja Line - Page 1
- The Early Years 1957-60 - This Page!
Silja Line - Page 2
- First Generation Car Ferries 1961-70
Silja Line - Page 3
- Second Generation Car Ferries 1971-80
Silja Line - Page 4
- Third Generation Car Ferries 1981-
Silja Line - Page 5
- Seawind Line
Bore Line
- Höyrylaiva Oy Bore/Ångfartygs Ab Bore
Finska Ångfartygs Ab
- Finland SS Co
Rederi AB Svea
Associated Pages:-
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page
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Silja Line Fleet List
Part 1: The Early Years 1957-60
Silja (1957-1961)
Silja
was built as the
Heimdall
for
Rederi AB Svea
in 1915, and served with them until 1957 when she was sold to Oy Siljavarustamo and renamed
Silja
. She was later sold to M.Rauanheimo Oy (Finland) and renamed
Coccolita
. She was broken up in 1970 in Finland.
Silja Line postcard of
Silja
.
Scan supplied by Mikael Blomberg.
Silja Line postcard of
Silja
.
Postcard of
Silja
in Mariehamn.
Scan supplied by Mikael Blomberg.
Färjeminnen postcard of
Silja
.
Scan supplied by Mikael Blomberg.
Photo: © Bernt Fogelberg
Kuultokuva postcard TT1101 of
Silja
,
Bore 1
and
Kastelholm
laid up during the winter on the Aura river in Turku.
Scan supplied by Mikael Blomberg.
Uusikivipaino Oy postcard A608/24 of
Silja
,
Bore 1
and
Kastelholm
laid up during the spring on the Aura river in Turku.
Photo: Matti Uusi-Honko.
Scan supplied by Mikael Blomberg.
Warjo (1957-1964)
Photograph of
Warjo
.
Scan:
Fakta om Fartyg
.
Aallotar (1959-1971)
Aallotar
was built for Finska Ångfartygs Ab (FÅA) by Helsingørs Skipsværft og Maskinbyggeri A/S in 1952. She worked on routes Helsinki-Stockholm, Åbo-Stockholm and Mariehamn-Stockholm. From 1959, FÅA worked as part of the Silja Line consortium. In 1964
Aallotar
was rebuilt by Wärtsilä Sandviken, Helsinki. From 1969-70 she served between Helsinki-Travemünde. In 1971
Aallotar
was sold to
Ångfartygs Ab Bore
and later renamed
Bore II
. She initially operated between Jakobstad-Skellefteå for
Jakob Lines
, followed by Helsinki-Leningrad in 1972 and Åbo-Visby in 1973.
FÅA postcard of
Aallotar
.
FÅA postcard of
Aallotar
.
FÅA postcard of
Aallotar
.
Scan supplied by Mikael Blomberg.
FÅA postcard of
Aallotar
.
Scan supplied by Mikael Blomberg.
Bore III (1959-71)
Bore III
was built in 1952 by Oskarshamns Varv for
Ångfartygs Bore Ab
. She ran on the routes Åbo-Stockholm, Helsinki-Stockholm and Stockholm-Mariehamn. In 1971 she operated between Helsinki-Leningrad. In 1972
Bore III
was chartered to
Jakob Lines
for their service Jakobstad-Skellefteå. After sale in 1976 she served as
Lowell Thomas Explorer
and
Royal Clipper
. She was scrapped in 1982.
Official Ångfartygs Bore Ab/Höyrylaiva Oy Bore postcard of
Bore III
.
Official Ångfartygs Bore Ab/Höyrylaiva Oy Bore postcard of
Bore III
.
Photo: E. Pajala.
Official Ångfartygs Bore Ab/Höyrylaiva Oy Bore postcard of
Bore III
.
Official Ångfartygs Bore Ab/Höyrylaiva Oy Bore postcard of
Bore III
.
Birger Jarl (1959-1971)
Birger Jarl
was a steamship built by Finnboda for Rederi Ab Svea. She entered service in 1953 between Stockholm-Helsinki. In 1971
Birger Jarl
was sold to
Oy Jakob Line Ab
and renamed
Bore Nord
for service Skellefteå- Jakobstad. In 1974-75,
Bore Nord
was chartered to
Ångfartygs Ab Bore
for services Åbo-Visby and Stockholm-Mariehamn, returning afterwards to
Oy Jakob Line Ab
. In 1977,
Bore Nord
was sold to
Ångfartygs Ab Bore
, but resold soon afterwards. She was rebuilt as a cruise ship, re-entering service on cruises out of Stockholm as the
Baltic Star
. In 1979 she was cruising between Stockholm-Mariehamn for Ånedin Linjens. In 1982 her steam engines were replaced by diesels, presumably without great success since they were replaced again in 1989. In 2002, her name reverted to
Birger Jarl
. She ceased trading in June 2013.
Silja Line postcard of
Birger Jarl
.
Scan supplied by Mikael Blomberg.
Silja Line postcard of
Birger Jarl
.
Scan supplied by Mikael Blomberg.
Färjeminnen postcard of
Birger Jarl
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Bore (2) (1960-77)
Bore
was built in 1960 by Oskarshamns, for
Höyrylaiva Oy Bore-Ångfartygs Ab Bore
. She entered service between Åbo-Mariehamn-Stockholm as part of the Silja Line consortium. In 1977,
Bore
was sold to
Oy Jakob Lines Ab
, Jakobstad, Finland. She was renamed
Borea
, and ran between Jakobstad-Skellefteå. From 1979-87 she had an unsettled life on various charters with different owners until bought by Rannikkolinjat Oy, Kotka, Finland, and renamed
Baltic Kristina
. She received a major refurbishment, and entered service with Kristina Cruises in 1988 on cruises out of Helsinki.
There is a complete postcard history of this ship
on this link
.
Official Silja Line postcard of
Bore
.
Official Silja Line postcard of
Bore
.
Official Silja Line postcard of
Bore
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Färjeminnen postcard of
Bore
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Regin (1960)
1431 grt - 73.0m long - 465 passengers/64 berths - 14 knots
Regin
was built by Oskarshamns Varv, Oskarshamn for
Stockholms Rederi Ab Svea
. She entered service in 1921 between Copenhagen-Malmö-Stockholm-Sundsvall-Luleå, moving to Stockholm-Sundsvall-Malmö the following year.
Regin
operated on various
Rederi Ab Svea
services until she was rebuilt in 1952, returning with a more modern appearance. In 1960 she entered service on the Silja Line route between Norrtälje and Åbo. In 1962,
Regin
was sold to Rederi Ab Göteborg-Frederikshavn (
Sessan Line
) and renamed
Princessan Regina
, used on their Göteborg-Frederikshavn route. She was laid up the following year and broken up in 1967.
Rederi AB Svea postcard of
Regin
as rebuilt in 1952.
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