Silja Line
Oy Siljavarustamo - Ab Siljarederiet Ab
Page 2 - First Generation Car Ferries 1961-70
This page is the second 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 2
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.
In 1970, a closer agreement was reached between the three founding companies, and Silja Line became became a traffic coordinating and marketing unit. The ships of the three fleets
Finland SS Co
,
Bore SS Co
and
Rederi AB Svea
were united under the famous seals' head logo, and the remaining ships of the fourth company Oy Siljavarustamo/ Ab Siljarederiet Ab were distributed amongst the other three.
Fennia
joined
Svea
,
Botnia
joined
Bore
. and the new
Floria
joined the
Finland
fleet. Each carried their owners funnel colours, but were united by the Silja Line hull markings.
Ships on This Page:-
Botnia
(1967-1975)
Fennia
(1966-1984, 1993-2001)
Floria
(1970-1975)
Holmia
(1965-1971)
Ilmatar
(1964-1973)
Nordia
(1962-1974)
Skandia (1)
(1961-1974)
Svea Jarl
(1962-1976)
Silja Line Pages:-
Silja Line - Header Page
Silja Line - Page 1
- The Early Years 1957-60
Silja Line - Page 2
- First Generation Car Ferries 1961-70 - This Page!
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 2 - First Generation Car Ferries 1961-70
Skandia (1) (1961-1974)
3593grt - 101.60m long - 6600hp=18 knots 1200 passengers/136 berths
Skandia (1)
was built by Oy Wärtsilä Sandviken Ab for Oy Siljavarustamo/ Ab Siljarederiet Ab (Silja Line). She entered service in 1961 between Åbo-Mariehamn-Norrtälje.
Skandia's
sistership was
Nordia
. In 1972, ownership was transferred to Oy Silja Line AB, followed by further transfer the following year to
Finska Ångfartygs Ab (FÅA)
. The two sisters were withdrawn and laid up in 1973, followed by sale the year after,
Skandia
passing to Naviera Oriental C.A. Pampatar, Venezuela as the
Isla de Cubagua
. Registered owners became Consolidada de Ferry CA Caracas in 1980.
Isla de Cubagua
was sold to Greek owners in 1986, but she sank whilst crossing the Atlantic on her delivery voyage.
Silja Line postcard of
Skandia
.
Silja Line postcard of
Skandia
.
Silja Line postcard of
Skandia
.
Silja Line postcard of
Skandia
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Silja Line postcard of
Skandia
.
Silja Line postcard of
Skandia
.
Silja Line postcard of
Skandia
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Silja Line postcard of
Skandia
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Färjeminnen postcard 2680 of
Skandia
.
Photo: Marko Hänninen
Duncan postcard of
Skandia
.
Silja Line postcard of
Skandia
at Turku.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Silja Line postcard of
Skandia
with later white hull and Silja logo.
Lasse Sjöström postcard of
Bore, Nordia
and
Skandia
(left-to-right) at Turku.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Svea Jarl (1962-1976)
4334 grt - 101.4m long - 1020 passengers 339 berths (later 472) - 60 cars (later 20)
Svea Jarl
was built by Finnboda Varv, Nacka, Sweden, for
Rederi Ab Svea
. She entered service on Silja Line services in 1962 between Stockholm-Helsinki/Åbo.
Svea Jarl
was a steam ship with a 6-cylinder uniflow engine, built by A.D.M. Skinner Marine, which gave a speed of 16 knots. In 1976,
Svea Jarl
was sold to Rederi Ab Slite, part of the
Viking Line
consortium. She was rebuilt as a small cruise ship, and entered service Stockholm-Mariehamn as the
Apollo III
in March 1977. The steam engines weere replaced by diesels in 1982. In 1989
Apollo III
was sold to Siam Cruise Co of Thailand, and renamed
Andaman Princess
for cruises out of Bangkok and Singapore.
Silja Line postcard of
Svea Jarl
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Nordia (1962-1974)
3631grt - 101.60m long - 6600hp=17.5 knots 1000 passengers/124 berths
Nordia
was built by Oy Wärtsilä Sandviken Ab for Oy Siljavarustamo/ Ab Siljarederiet Ab (Silja Line). She entered service in 1962 between Åbo-Mariehamn-Norrtälje.
Nordia's
sistership was
Skandia
. The two sisters were withdrawn and laid up in 1973, followed by sale the year after,
Nordia
passing to Naviera Oriental C.A. Pampatar, Venezuela as the
Isla de Coche
. Registered owners became Consolidada de Ferry CA Caracas in 1980.
Isla de Coche
was sold to Greek owners Theoskepasti Shipping Co in 1986, and renamed
Theoskepasti
. She was broken up in Greece in 1988.
Silja Line postcard of
Nordia
.
Silja Line postcard of
Nordia
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Silja Line postcard of
Nordia
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Silja Line postcard of
Nordia
.
Postcard of
Nordia
in Pargas.
Published: Kuultokuva T1804
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Postcard of
Nordia
in Norrtelje.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Postcard of
Nordia
in Norrtelje.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Postcard of
Nordia
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Postcard of
Nordia
.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Färjeminnen postcard of
Nordia
.
Photo: © Bernt Fogelberg.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Silja Line postcard of
Nordia
with later white hull.
Färjeminnen postcard 2650 of
Nordia
in Svea colours.
Lasse Sjöström postcard of
Bore, Nordia
and
Skandia
(left-to-right) at Turku.
Scan: Mikael Blomberg.
Theoskepasti Shipping Co postcard of
Theoskepasti
.
Ilmatar (3) (1964-73)
Ilmatar
was the first motor passenger ship for the
Finska Ångfartygs Ab (FÅA)
. She was delivered from Wärtsila of Helsinki in 1964, and operated on routes from Stockholm to Turku or Helsinki.
Ilmatar
was initially powered by a single 4500bhp Sulzer engine, giving a leisurely speed of 16.5 knots. She was 5171grt, and 108m long. In 1973,
Ilmatar
was rebuilt in Hamburg, increasing in size to 7355grt and 128m long. Two additional Nohab wing diesels were added, increasing speed to 19 knots. She was then used on the Helsinki-Trävemünde route, including a charter to
Finnlines
in 1975. She was later used on cruises in the Baltic, Mediterranean and along the Norwegian coast.
In 1979
Ilmatar
was refitted as a Mediterranean cruise ship by her builders Wärtsila. In 1980, she was sold to Vesteraalens Steamship Co of Norway and continued cruising under the Norwegian Cruises banner without change of name. She later received Vesteraalens funnel colours. She was reportedly renamed
Viking Prince
in 1982, but was laid up in Toulon and offered for sail. In 1984 she was bought by Crown Cruise Line, renamed
Viking Princess
and operated out of Palm Beach, Florida on cruises to the Bahamas. From 1997, she was renamed
Palm Beach Princess
, operating on the same route for Palm Beach Cruises.
A complete history of this ship is available
on this link
.
Official Finland SS Co postcard of
Ilmatar
.
Official Finland SS Co postcard of
Ilmatar
.
Finland SS became part of the Silja Line consortium, and
Ilmatar
is shown here with their hull logo.
Holmia (1965-1971)
2196grt - 88.36m long - 5760hp=17.5 knots 900 passengers/44 berths
Holmia
was built as
Prins Bertil (1)
in 1960 by Aarhus Flydedok, Århus for
Lion Ferry AB
of Halmstad, for a use on a Halmstad-Århus service.
Prins Bertil (1)
later served on other routes Halmstad-Århus-Kalundborg and Helsingör-Halmstad-Århus. In 1964
Prins Bertil (1)
was chartered, then sold, to Rederi AB Nordö and renamed
Calmar Nyckel
for a route Helsinki-Visby-Kalmar-Rönne-Travemünde. In 1965 she operated on charter with
TT-Line
. In 1965,
Calmar Nyckel
was sold to Oy Siljavarustamo/Siljarederiet AB (Silja Line), renamed
Holmia
, and used on various services including Åbo-Mariehamn/Långnäs-Norrtälje and Nådendal-Stockholm. In 1967
Holmia
had a brief charter with
Sessan Linjen
, followed later in the year with a charter to Kristiansands Dambskipsselskap. In 1971
Holmia
was sold to Toscana SPA for use as
Flaminia Nuova
on services from
Portoferraio (Elba)
to
Livorno
and Gorgona/Capraia. In 1974,
Flaminia Nuova
passed to state-owned Toscana Regionale Marittima SPA (To-re-ma) running
Livorno
-Gorgona-Capraia-
Portoferraio (Elba)
as
Capo Bianco
. This continued until 1992, when
Capo Bianco
was sold to Saudi Arabian owners.
Silja Line postcard of
Holmia
Fennia (1966-1984, 1993-2001)
As built:- 6178grt - 128.4m long - 6178hp=18.5 knots 1200 passengers/300 berths
As rebuilt:- 10515grt - 128.9m long - 8760hp=18.5 knots 1200 passengers/360, then 570 berths
Fennia
was built by Öresundsvarvet, Landskrona in 1966 for Silja Line services, beginning a long career through many owners without a name change until 2001. She remained in service with her original owners Silja Line until 1984 (including a charter to
B&I
in 1983). Between 1984-86 she operated for
Jakob Lines
, before she joined Silja Line subsidiary
Vaasanlaivat/Vasabåtarna
. She was not sold by Silja Line until 2001, when
RG Line
took over the Vaasa-Umeå route, and she was renamed
Casino Express
.
A complete history of this ship is available
on this link
.
Official Silja Line postcard.
Official Silja Line postcard.