M/S Mariella

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M/S Mariella
Image:Ferry.Viking.line.mariella.800px.jpg
Shipbuilder:	Wärtsilä Shipyard, Turku, Finland
Launched:	28 September, 1984
Delivered:	17 May, 1985
Current route:	Stockholm — Mariehamn — Helsinki
General Characteristics
Tonnage:	37,860 Gross Register
Length:	177 m
Beam:	28.4 m
Draft:	6.51 m
Propulsion:	4 × Wärtsilä-Pielstick diesels 23,000 kW
Speed:	22 knots
Passengers:	2500
Car capacity:	430

M/S Mariella is a car and passenger cruiseferry delivered in 1985 to SF Line and operated as a part of Viking Line. She was built by the Wärtsilä Shipyard in Turku, Finland. Her sister ship is the Olympia (now Pride of Bilbao).

Mariella was when delivered in 1985 the first ship to sail on Viking Line's Helsinki - Stockholm service not owned by Rederi Ab Sally. She has always been operated on the said route, except when substituted for other Viking Line ships for short times on other routes. Only one ferry currently surpasses her record for longest continual service on one route, GTS Finnjet which served between Helsinki and Travemünde for 22 years. At the time of her delivery, Mariella was the largest ferry in the world by terms of gross tonnage, number of passengers and passenger berths.

In 1989, before delivery of the new M/S Cinderella, SF Line considered changing Mariella's route to Helsinki - Norrköping to start a new express service between Helsinki and Sweden aimed for passengers traveling with their cars. The plan never materialised however. In 1993 Rederi Ab Slite was declared bankrupt, which left SF Line as the sole owner of Viking Line. Mariella was the first ship to arrive at the scene of perished M/S Estonia in 1994. Working as a helicopter platform, this made rescue efforts more efficient. In 1995 SF Line changed their name into Viking Line, and the marketing company Viking Line ceased to be.

During the 1996 summer season, a short cruise from Helsinki to Tallinn was added to Mariella's schedule in place of the nine hours she normally spent in Helsinki. These "picnic cruises" proved to be unpopular and the itenary was not continued the next summer. In order to keep tax free sales on the Stockholm - Helsinki ships when the EU changed its tax free legislation, a stop at Mariehamn, Åland, was added to the route in 1999. In September 2000 Mariella was rebuilt at Naantali with rearsponsons and a new rescue boat. Her interiors were also generally brought up to date, the Disco moved from deck eight to deck seven, and for some time after the refit she sported the text "Updated 06/10 2000" on her hull.

Another large refit was carried out in September 2006, again at Naantali, which included rebuilding of the tax free and parfymeria, as well as addition of two new restaurants.

[edit] Decks

The ship has eleven decks, labelled from bottom to top:

Engine room
Anchor deck - C and economy-class cabins, Sauna and hot tubs
Car deck - Trucks and buses.
1. Car platform deck - can be lowered hydraulically to divide the car deck in two giving space for two layers of passenger cars
Bell deck - B and A-class cabins, boarding
Sextant deck - B and A-class cabins
Info & Shopping deck - B and A-class and luxury cabins, suites, "Air seats", Tax-Free shop, Cafeteria, Game room, Information desk, boarding
Restaurant deck - Buffet restaurant serving Swedish smörgåsbord, Night club, Casino, Disco, Pub, Food Garden À la carte restaurant, Ella's BBQ restaurant, Tapas & Wine restaurant
Conference deck - Auditorium, conference rooms, Sundeck, A-class cabins
Compass deck - Crew accommodations
Captain's deck - Bridge, Sundeck