MS Birka Paradise

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MS Birka Paradise arriving at Stockholm in February 2007.
Career
Name: MS Birka Paradise
Owner: Birka Line[1]
Operator: Birka Cruises[1]
Port of registry: 2004—2009: Mariehamn, 22x20px Åland (Finland)
2009 onwards: Stockholm,  Sweden[1]
Route: Stockholm—Mariehamn
Various cruises out of Stockholm during the summer season[1]
Ordered: 20 November 2002[1]
Builder: Aker Finnyards, Rauma, Finland
Yard number: 442[1]
Laid down: 20 October 2003[1]
Launched: 16 April 2004[1]
Christened: 10 November 2004 by Arja Saijonmaa[1]
Acquired: 8 November 2004[1]
In service: 11 November 2004[1]
Identification: IMO number: 9273727[1]
Status: In service
General characteristics [2]
Type: cruise ship
Tonnage: 34,728 GT (gross tonnage)
4,022 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
Length: 177 m (580 ft 9 in)
Beam: 28 m (91 ft 10 in)
Height: 43 m (141 ft 1 in)[3]
Draught: 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
Depth: 9.40 m (30 ft 10 in)
Decks: 11 (10 passenger accessible)[3]
Ice class: 1 A Super[3]
Installed power: Main engines: 4 × Wärtsilä 6L46 diesels, combined 23,400 kW
Auxiliary engines: 4 × Wärtsilä 6L32 diesels, combined 11,040 kW[1]
Speed: 21 knots (38.89 km/h; 24.17 mph) service speed[3]
Capacity: 1800 passengers[1]

MS Birka Paradise is a cruise ship owned by Birka Line, operated under their Birka Cruises brand. She was built in 2004 by Aker Finnyards at Rauma, Finland.[1]

Concept and construction

Birka Paradise was ordered by Birka Line from Aker Finnyards at Rauma, Finland on 20 November 2002.[1] She was the first new ship ordered by Birka Line since MS Birka Queen, ordered in the late 1980s but never delivered due to bankruptcy of the shipyard.[4]

The interior and exterior of the Birka Paradise were jointly designed by Birka Line, Aker Finnyards and Deltamarin.[5] Unlike most of Birka's previous vessels, the ship was designed from the beginning as a genuine cruise ship, without a car-deck. Following a naming competition which drew 3500 proposals, the ship was named Birka Paradise to reflect her Caribbean cruise ship -like design. The ship was designed with various environmentally friendly innovations; in addition to exhaust and closed sewage treatment systems already used on the company's MS Birka Princess, the Birka Paradise was built to fulfill Det Norske Veritas' Clean Design rule relating to environmentally friendly structural solutions. Her hull form was optimised for smallest possible impact on the sensitive archipelago routes she sails on.[6]

The keel of the Birka Paradise was laid on 20 October 2003 and she was launched on 16 April 2004. Following her sea trials, completed on 19 August 2004 and 14 October 2004, the ship was delivered to Birka Line on 8 November 2004. The then sailed via her port of registry Mariehamn to Stockholm, where she was officially named on 10 November 2004 by Arja Saijonmaa.[1]

Service history

The Birka Paradise entered service on 11 November 2004 on a 22-hour cruise from Stockholm to Mariehamn, which has been her main route in Birka service. During Christmas 2004 she made a longer cruise from Stockkholm, calling at Tallinn, Helsinki and Mariehamn. From 2006 onwards she has made various longer cruises from Stockholm around the Baltic Sea during the northern hemisphere summer season.[1]

In January 2009 Rederi Ab Eckerö, the owners of Birka Cruises, made public their plans to re-register Birka Paradise to Sweden "as soon as possible" in order to allow the sale of snuff onboard. According to European Union legislation snuff may not be sold within the EU except in Sweden and onboard ships registered in Sweden.[7][8] Until November 2007 the province of Åland in Finland allowed the sale of snuff onboard ships registered in the province, but was forced to discontinue the practice when threathened by legal action by the EU. The outlawing of snuff sales caused the loss of approximately 1 million € per year for Birka Cruises,[9] finally resulting in the decision to re-flag the Birka Paradise. The reflagging took place on 3 June 2009.[10]

Decks and facilities

  1. Engine room and other technical facilities
  2. Outside and inside cabins, engine room and other technical facilities
  3. Outside and inside cabins, crew facilities
  4. Outside and inside cabins, technical facilities
  5. Reception, café, tax-free shop, night club, casino, sundeck, technical facilities
  6. Bars, cigar club, buffet and a la carte restaurants, conference rooms, helicopter landing platform
  7. Outside and inside cabins
  8. Outside and inside cabins
  9. Bridge, outside and inside cabins
  10. Panorama bar, saunas, swimming pool, sundeck
  11. Jogging track[3][11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 Asklander, Micke. "M/S Birka Paradise (2004)" (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/birka_paradise_2004.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 
  2. ↑ "Birka Paradise - Dimensions". DNV Exchange. Det Norske Veritas. https://exchange.dnv.com/exchange/main.aspx?extool=vessel&subview=dimensions&vesselid=24651. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Birka Paradise". Birka Cruises. http://www.birka.se/site.aspx?id=93. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 
  4. ↑ Asklander, Micke. "M/S Royal Majesty (1992)" (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/royal_majesty_1992.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 
  5. ↑ "Passenger Cruise Ship Birka Paradise". Deltamarin. http://www.deltamarin.com/references/passenger-ships/passenger-cruise-ship-birka-paradise/. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 
  6. ↑ "Birka´s New Cruise Vessel will be Birka Paradise". Marine Link. 2003-10-27. http://www.marinelink.com/Story/Birka%C2%B4s+New+Cruise+Vessel+will+be+Birka+Paradise-12906.html. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 
  7. ↑ Lindvall, Liz (24 January 2009). "Birka Paradise flaggas ut" (in Swedish). Ålandstidningen. http://www.alandstidningen.ax/article.con?id=14772&iPage=1. Retrieved 26 January 2009. 
  8. ↑ Kullman, Annika (24 January 2009). "Birka Paradise kan flaggas ut redan i juni" (in Swedish). Nya Åland. http://www.nyan.ax/nyheter/?news_id=39933&news_instance=2. Retrieved 26 January 2009. 
  9. ↑ Nieminen, Jamie (7 November 2007). "Oolannissa syttyy nyt nuuskasota" (in Finnish). Turun Sanomat. http://www.turunsanomat.fi/kotimaa/?ts=1,3:1002:0:0,4:2:0:1:2007-11-07,104:2:497002,1:0:0:0:0:0:. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
  10. ↑ Erlandsson, Karin (23 March 2009). "Svensk flagg för Paradise 3 juni" (in Swedish). Nya Åland. http://www.nyan.ax/nyheter/index.pbs?news_id=41584. Retrieved 23 March 2009. 
  11. ↑ "Birka Paradise General Arrangement plan". Deltamarin. http://www.deltamarin.com/references/reference-pictures/BirkaParadise_GA.jpg/image_view_fullscreen. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 

External links

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