MS Superfast IX

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Career
MS Superfast IX departing Helsinki for Rostock, May 2007.
Name:	Superfast IX
Owner:	2002—2006: Superfast Ferries 2006 onwards: Tallink^[1]
Operator:	2002—2006: Superfast Ferries 2006 onwards: Tallink^[1]
Port of Registry:	2002—2006: Piraeus, Greece 2006 onwards: Paldiski, Estonia^[1]
Route:	Tallinn—Helsinki—Rostock (as of 2008)
Builder:	HDW Kiel, Germany
Yard number:	359^[1]
Launched:	18 November 2000^[1]
Christened:	11 January 2002^[1]
Acquired:	8 January 2002^[1]
Maiden voyage:	10 January 2002^[1]
In service:	10 January 2002^[1]
Identification:	IMO 9211509^[1]
Status:	In service
General characteristics (as built)^[1]
Class and type:	Superfast VII class fast ropax ferry
Tonnage:	30,285 GT (gross tonnage)
Displacement:	5,525 metric tons of deadweight (DWT)
Length:	203.30 m (667 ft)
Beam:	25.00 m (82 ft)
Draught:	6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
Decks:	10^[2]
Ice class:	1 A Super^[2]
Installed power:	4 × Wärtsilä-Sulzer NSD ZA V40S diesels combined 46000 kW
Speed:	30.4 kn (56.30 km/h)^[2]
Capacity:	626 passengers (728 after 2004 refit)^[2] 661 cars 1920 lane meters

MS Superfast IX is a fast Ro-Pax ferry operated by the Estonian ferry company Tallink on the route Tallinn (Estonia) — Helsinki (Finland) — Rostock (Germany). She was built in 2002 by HDW, Kiel, Germany for Attica Enterprises's subsidiary Superfast Ferries.

[edit] Service history

In 2001 Superfast Ferries had made a deal with the Swedish government to operate a ferry connection between Södertälje in Sweden and Rostock for ten years, starting from spring 2002.^{[citation needed]} Superfast IX inaugurated this service in January 2002 (she started service on 10 January but wasn't officially named until the 11). The route proved to be unprofitable, and in April of the same year the it was closed down, with the Superfast IX was laid up at the shipyard that had built her. On May of the same year Superfast IX, alongside her sister MS Superfast X, started a new service for Superfast, connecting Rosyth (Scotland) to Zeebrugge (Belgium). In February 2004 she was rebuilt with extra cabins at Fosen Mekaniske Verksteder, Fosen, Norway. In November 2005 the Superfast IX was moved to Hanko—Rostock route.^[1]

In March 2006 Superfast sold their Baltic Sea operations to Tallink for €310 million.^[3] Following this the Superfast IX and her sisters were re-registered to Paldiski in Estonia, and the route changed to Hanko—Paldiski—Rostock from April 2006 onwards.^[1] Calling at Paldiski proved problematic as Estonia was not a member of the Schengen Treaty,^{[citation needed]} and in June of the same year the route reverted back to Hanko—Rostock.^[1] According to the agreement Tallink could keep the Superfast marketing name until the end of 2007,^{[citation needed]} but the ships' hulls soon sported the texts "Superfast operated by Tallink". From the beginning on the year 2007 the ship's route changed to Tallinn—Helsinki—Rostock, with the West Harbour as the port in Helsinki.^[4] As the same time all remaining Superfast logos and hull markings were removed.^[1] At the time it was reported that conincing with the move to sail from Helsinki the Superfast ships would be transferred to the fleet of Tallink's subsidiary Silja Line, but this did not came to pass.^[5]

In April 2008 Tallink made an agreement for chartering the Superfast IX to Marine Atlantic, a Canadian Crown Corporation, for five years from October 2008 onwards.^[6] The Government of Canada will provide Marine Atlantic with $101 million over five years to fund the charter.^[7] The ship will be used by Marine Atlantic on their service between Port aux Basques, Newfoundland^[8] and North Sydney, Nova Scotia.^{[citation needed]} A naming competition will be held for the ship, with students in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Cape Breton eligible to make entries.^[9]