Name Pascal Lota Ordered 5 August 2005 Yard number 6140 Launched 5 October 2007 Draft 7 m | Cost €120 million Construction started 18 January 2007 Length 177 m Beam 28 m | |
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Operator Medinvest SpA (Corsica Ferries) | ||
MS Superstar is a fast ferry owned by the Italy-based MedInvest Spa and chartered to Estonian operator Tallink and operated on Tallink's Helsinki–Tallinn service. She was built in 2008 at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy.
Contents
Concept and construction
The design of the Superstar is based on Moby Lines' Moby Wonder. The original order included an option for a second ship of the same type, which Tallink decided not to exercise.
The keel of the vessel was laid on January 18, 2007. On October 5, 2007, the Superstar was christened by the Estonian tennis player Kaia Kanepi. The ship was delivered on 8 April 2008 and left Ancona for the Baltic Sea a day later.
Service history
Superstar entered service on Tallink's Helsinki–Tallinn route on 21 April 2008. On 30 April 2008 the ship suffered a hydraulics problem while leaving Tallinn, and one Tallinn–Helsinki roundtrip had to be cancelled. On 27 February 2009, while en route from Tallinn to Helsinki with 400 passengers on board, the ship's main engines stopped due to problems with the cooling systems at 8:45 am. The ship was adrift for nearly two hours, with emergency generators providing electricity, until full power could be restored at 10:30 am. Superstar arrived in Helsinki at 11:30, two hours behind schedule.
Design
The green external livery of the ship is according to Tallink promotion material "meant to reflect the environmentally friendly aspects of the ship's design".
The onboard facilities include a three-deck high showlounge, four restaurants, cafeteria, two bars, a casino, a business lounge and various shops. The interiors of the ship were designed by the Italian designers Carlo Ciribi and Alessandro Cestaro.