Viking Glory’s five-week journey home across the seas will reach its climax on Sunday morning, when the vessel sails past Ruissalo Island into the mouth of the river Aura. When the brand-new vessel moors for the first time in its berth in the Port of Turku, it will be a ceremonious occasion worth celebrating, both for Viking Line and the city of Turku.
Viking Glory will be received in the Port of Turku on Sunday, February 6, at 12 noon, saluted by the Arma Aboa Association’s artillery of cannons, daytime fireworks and the navy band’s ceremonial marches under the direction of Viking Line’s mascot, Ville Viking. The festivities will be streamed live online so that the general public will be able to enjoy them in a Covid-safe way. Ruissalo People’s Park is an excellent spot from which to follow Viking Glory’s arrival in Turku.
“Turku is Finland’s oldest port city and has always had a close connection with lands to the west. It is very significant that Viking Line has decided to situate its most advanced and interesting vessel here. Viking Glory is the newest jewel in the crown of the fleet of vessels that cross the Baltic Sea, and I would like to wish the vessel a warm welcome to our city,” says the mayor of Turku, Minna Arve.
“The City of Turku is working hard to be carbon neutral by 2029, and Viking Glory promotes this goal in an excellent way on this sensitive archipelago route. We wish it fair winds and following seas.”
The new flagship replaces Amorella, which is now moving to Helsinki, and will increase Viking Line’s passenger capacity on the Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm route by about ten per cent. The vessel handles about 60 per cent more cargo than its predecessor.
“We are really excited about Viking Glory’s arrival. In our experience, a new vessel makes the entire route more attractive and increases passenger volumes. Before the Covid pandemic, we had more than three million passengers annually and now, post-pandemic, we see that there is great pent-up demand for travel. The future looks bright in every way,” says Erik Söderholm, managing director of the Port of Turku.
“We serve passengers from all across Finland since people can take the train all the way to the ferry terminal – that is a rarity even in global terms. There is also great potential in international tourism. Passengers from the Far East have been delighted with the day sailings, and being able to see our fantastic archipelago has been a great experience for them.”
Although Viking Glory has significantly more capacity than Amorella, the newcomer has not required any new investments in port. However, changes are promised at the mouth of the river Aura since a new joint terminal is being built for Viking Line and Tallink, with completion planned for December 2025. In conjunction with the new building, cargo handling will be digitised and road and rail links to the port will be improved.
After the welcome ceremony, the vessel will be outfitted in port over a period of three weeks. The new vessel will launch service on the route on March 1.
“The Turku route is very important for Viking Line as well as for passenger and cargo service between Finland and Sweden. We are extremely proud that we once again can take a vessel that represents the very latest in new advances to Turku – one that both improves the level of service on the route and reduces the environmental impact. There is great interest in Glory, and sales have gotten off to a really good start,” says Viking Line’s president and CEO, Jan Hanses.
