Wasaline’s new RoPax, Aurora Botnia, named in Vaasa

Aurora Botnia, a hybrid RoPax built by Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC), has been named at a ceremony in Vaasa, Finland. The 800-passenger ferry, which also has freight capacity of 1,500 lane metres, is owned by Finnish ferry company, Wasaline.

The EUR 120 million RoPax, which will be deployed on the route between Vaasa and Umeå in Sweden, will operate principally on LNG but can also use biogas. In port, the ferry will operate on electrical power.

Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO of RMC, commented: "It is of paramount importance for both the customer and the environment to build ships that stand the test of time. The ships we build today must also be able to operate in decades' time without massive modifications or, at worst, scrapping. Aurora Botnia's ability to utilise biogas is one way to meet this challenge."

Wasaline’s CEO, Peter Ståhlberg, said: "Aurora Botnia is the most environmentally friendly large RoPax ferry in the world, and its degree of domestic origin exceeds 80%. I would like to thank everyone involved in this project, especially our staff, who have made this possble."