MS Aallotar
Encyclopedia
MS
Motor ship
A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The name of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V.- See also :...
Aallotar was a car-passenger ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
built in 1972 by Dubegion-Normandie S.A., Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for the Finland Steamship Company, who used her in traffic of the Silja Line
Silja Line
Silja Line is a Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy – today Tallink Silja Oy – is a subsidiary of Tallink Grupp, handling marketing and sales for Tallink and Silja...
marketing company. She was the first car/passenger ferry to operate between Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
and Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, and the first ship to offer year-round service. She was later known under the names MS Rogalin, MS Edda and MS Celtic Pride. She was scrapped in 2004 in Aliağa
Aliaga
Aliaga can refer to:* Aliaga, Aragon, Spain* Aliağa, Turkey* the Filipino municipality of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija on Luzon* a family name, as in the case of the Peruvian writer Felipe Pardo y Aliaga...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
MS Aallotar
In 1970 the Finnish shipping company Oy Siljavarustamo - Siljarederiet Ab ordered two new carferries for HelsinkiHelsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
–Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
service from the French Dubegion-Normandie S.A. shipyard. During construction of the ships Silja's operations were reorganised, and the building contract for the first ship was transferred to Finland Steamship Company (FÅA). On 23 July 1971 the ship was christened MS Aallotar. She was delivered to FÅA on 17 February 1972, and on 29 February she was set in Silja Line traffic between Helsinki and Stockholm, becoming the first car/passenger ferry to operate on the route, and the first to operate the service around the year. In June she was joined in the route by her brand-new sister . In December 1972 she collided with a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
ice breaker in the Stockholm archipelago, but was spared serious damage.
The new ships proved the Helsinki–Stockholm route to be highly lucrative, and by 1973 Silja Line's owner companies decided to order three larger ferries to replace the Aallotar and Svea Regina, to be delivered in 1975, so the groundbreaking Aallotar's service on the route was to be short. On 7 August 1973 the Aallotar was chartered for a special cruise around the Porkkala
Porkkala
Porkkala is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland located at Kirkkonummi in Southern Finland.The peninsula had great strategic value, as coastal artillery based there would be able to reach more than halfway across the Gulf of Finland...
archipelago for the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. On 7 July 1975, after delivery of the new , the Aallotar was transferred to Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
–Mariehamn
Mariehamn
Mariehamn is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city...
–Norrtälje
Norrtälje
Norrtälje is a locality and the seat of Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 17,275 inhabitants in 2010.- History :Norrtälje traces its history to 1219, when the location was first mentioned as Tälje. After some time, the name officially became Norrtälje, to separate it from the...
service. She proved unprofitable on this freight-oriented line, and in August 1976 the Aallotar was laid up, waiting for a potential buyer. No buyer was found however, and between June and August 1977 the Aallotar was back in active service, sailing between Turku and Stockholm. After this she was again laid up, but only for a short while as in October 1977 she was chartered to Polferries
Polferries
Polferries is the largest Polish ferry operator.The Polish Baltic Shipping Company was established on 31 January 1976 as a state-owned shipping company. Under the operating name Polferries, the company runs ferry routes across the Baltic Sea between Poland and Scandinavia.In 1996 Polferries...
, who set her on traffic between Helsinki and Gdansk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, without a change of name.
MS Rogalin, MS Edda, MS Celtic Pride
On 14 May 1978 Polferries bought the Aallotar from FÅA and renamed her MS Rogalin. During the next four years she was used on the routes Helsinki–Gdansk, YstadYstad
Ystad is a "locality", or town, and the seat of Ystad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, with 17,286 inhabitants .Settlement dates back to the 11th century and the town has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre and tourist attraction...
–Świnoujście
Swinoujscie
Świnoujście is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. It is situated mainly on the islands of Uznam and Wolin, but also occupies smaller islands, of which the largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by a Piast...
and Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
–Świnoujście. In September 1979 the Rogalin collided with the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
tanker Coral Rubrum outside Porkkala. In May 1982 the Rogalin was transferred to Copenhagen–Travemünde service.
In May 1983 the Rogalin was chartered to the Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic company Faraskip until September of the same year. She was renamed M/S Edda and set in traffic between Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, Newcastle and Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
. After the charter ended she reverted to her old name and was again set in Polferries traffic. On 31 December 1985 she made a special cruise from Stettin to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Between May and December 1987, and again between May and December 1988, the Rogalin was chartered to Swansea Cork Ferries
Swansea Cork Ferries
Swansea Cork Ferries was a company that operated a RoRo service between Swansea and Cork from 1987 till 2006. The service is now operated by Fastnet Line.-History:...
for service between Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
and Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
under the name MS Celtic Pride. Between the charters she returned again to the name Rogalin and was used in Polferries traffic. In March 1991 she was chartered to Swansea Cork Ferries
Swansea Cork Ferries
Swansea Cork Ferries was a company that operated a RoRo service between Swansea and Cork from 1987 till 2006. The service is now operated by Fastnet Line.-History:...
for the third time, again under the name Celtic Pride. Tragedy struck in August 1992 when two teenagers, a brother and sister, died in their cabin en route to Cork. They had been overcome by fumes, traced to an alteration that had been made to the venting system in a septic tank. It proved impossible to determine where and when the alteration had been made. The charter ended in November 1992, and once again the ship returned to Polferries traffic under the name Rogalin. After this she was at least occasionally used on the route Gdansk–Nynäshamn
Nynäshamn
- References :...
.
In July 1999 the Rogalin was reflagged to the Bahamas. From November 2002 onwards she was used only on the route Ystad–Świnoujście. In July 2003 the 31-year old ferry was taken out of service, laid up and put for sale. In October she was sold to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n shipbreakers and on 25 November she arrived in Alang, India where she was scrapped.