Fjord Line’s MS Oslofjord ready to sail

30 May 2014

Fjord Line took delivery of its remodelled and upgraded cruise ferry MS Oslofjord on Friday after it was rebuilt by the STX Rauma shipyard in Finland for service on a new line between Sandefjord, Norway and Strömstad, Sweden.

Now the crew will hone their routines and fine-tune the ship before Oslofjord enters regular service on 20 June, sailing for the first time with passengers and vehicles across the waters of the Oslofjord.

On behalf of Fjord Line, Marcus Pettersson, director for the Sandefjord-Strömstad line, thanked the management and staff of the Finnish shipyard for their hard work in modernizing the ship, which served the company’s western Norway and Denmark line for many years until late 2013. The rebuild, with a contract value of about 30 million euro (250 million Norwegian kroner), included tearing out most cabins and replacing them with public areas for duty free shopping, plus a rich array cafeteria and restaurant offerings.

“Now the MS Oslofjord looks like a brand new ship, and we are looking forward to introducing her to our guests, truck drivers and freight shippers,” says Pettersson.


Image by Fjord Line

Capacity of 1,800 passengers
The ship that will now cross the outer Oslofjord was built 1993 at the Norwegian shipyard Fosen under the name MS Bergen. The cruise ferry, now called the MS Oslofjord, is 134 meters long, 24 meters wide and has a capacity of about 1,800 passengers and 370 motor vehicles. The new interior was designed by Oslo architects Falkum-Hansen Designs, which was also engaged in the planning and design of Fjord Line's two new cruise ferries.

Extensive and demanding project
STX Finland’s project manager Kari Toivonen called the conversion project “extremely extensive and demanding.”

“The basic design needed to be reviewed almost totally and the project was executed on a turnkey basis. We are very satisfied about being able to hand over this totally renewed ferry to Fjord Line,” says Toivonen.

Two round trips a day
The crossing between Sandefjord and Strömstad will take about 2.5 hours each way, with two round trips a day scheduled. The morning departure from Sandefjord is currently scheduled for 6:45 a.m., while the afternoon departure will be at 1:00 p.m.

Fjord Line press release