MS Silja Symphony

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MS Silja Symphony
Route:	Helsinki—Mariehamn—Stockholm
Builder:	Masa-Yards, Turku, Finland
Owner:	Silja Line
Entered service:	1991
Homeport:	Stockholm, Sweden
Tonnage:	58,377 gross register tons (GRT)
Length:	203,03 meters
Width:	31,50 meters
Depth:	7,10 meters
Propulsion:	4 × Wärtsilä-Vasa 9R46 diesels combined 32 500 kW
Maximum speed:	23 knots
Passenger capacity:	2626 (originally) 2852 (currently)
Passenger beds:	2626 (originally) 2852 (currently)
Cabins:	986
Car capacity:	450
Lanemeters:	950
Ice class:	1 A Super
Sister ship:	MS Silja Serenade
Status:	In service

MS Silja Symphony is a cruiseferry owned by the Finnish shipping company Silja Line and operated on a route connecting Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden via Mariehamn. She was built in 1991 by Masa Yards, Turku, Finland.

1 History
2 Decks
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

While the Silja Symphony was being built the shipyard building her (Wärtsilä Marine) went bankrupt, and as a result she was delivered several months behind schedule on May 30, 1991. On June 1 she was put on the route Helsinki - Stockholm. The new ships, the first ones to have a centerline promenade inside the ship, were highly popular but also proved to be somewhat expensive to operate. Unlike her sister, MS Silja Serenade, the Symphony's funnel was constructed of aluminium, which made the ship less heavy.

On February 7, 1996 the ship was grounded in the Stockholm archipelago. In December of the same year her engines were upgraded with so-called water-spray technology that greatly reduced nitrogen oxide emissions. In order to keep tax free sales on the Helsinki - Stockholm ships when the EU changed its tax free legislation, a stop at Mariehamn was added to the route in June 1999. On August 6, 2001 a swarm of fish got sucked in to the ship's cooling water intakes, which resulted in the engines shutting down due to overheating. Due to the engine problem the ship arrived in Helsinki some 1,5 hours late.

In January 2004 the ship made two special cruises to Tallinn, Estonia for the Finnish company SOK. Similar cruises were made again in January 2005. In January-February 2006, just prior to the sale of Silja Line to Tallink, the Symphony and her sister had their interiors extensively rebuilt at Luonnonmaan telakka, Naantali. During a storm on January 9, 2007 the Symphony accidentally rammed a boarding tube in the port of Mariehamn, resulting in approximately 600 000 euros worth of damage.

There are some small external differences by which the Symphony can be told apart from her sister: the outer decks on the Symphony are painted light blue (they are green on the Serenade), the eyes of the seal in Symphony's funnel is blue whereas it's white with a blue outline on the Serenade, and the light box with the ship's name on it is white on the Symphony but blue on the Serenade.

[edit] Decks

Engine room
Engine room, Tourist II-class cabins
Car deck, crew accommodations
Car deck, crew accommodations
Spa, driver's club, Seaside and Tourist II-class cabins
Conference rooms, Bistro Maxime, Café Orient, Buffet Symphony, Tax-free shops
Atlantic Palace night club & casino, tax-free shops, Mundo; el Capitan; Happy Lobster and Bon Vivant restaurants, Tapas & Seafood bar, Old Port Pub, Siljaland children's playroom
Atlantic Palace night club, Seaside and Promenade-class cabins
Suites, Seaside, Promenade and Tourist I -class cabins.
Commodore lounge, Commodore, Seaside, Promenade and Tourist I -class cabins.
Silja suite, Commodore, Seaside, Promenade and Tourist I -class cabins.
Sundeck, Sunflower Oasis sauna, swimming pool and hot tubs, crew accommodations
Bridge, bali disco, chill lounge, Silja Dream Theatre cinema