MS ''Galaxy 1'' is a cruise ferry built in 2006 by

Aker Finnyards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding compani ...

Rauma, Finland Rauma (; ) is a town in Finland, on the western coast of the country. Rauma is in the Satakunta region, by the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Rauma is approximately , while the sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most p ...

and was at the time the largest ship delivered to ferry operator

Tallink Tallink () is an Estonian shipping company operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden and Finland to Sweden. It is the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea region. It ...

. Between 2006–2008 she held the distinction of being the largest ship ever to be registered in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

; a title later held by her replacement the sister ship . Between July 2008 and September 2022, ''Galaxy'' sailed on the Stockholm–Åland–Turku route under Tallink's Silja Line brand. After ending this service, the ''Galaxy'' is scheduled to be used as refugee housing in the Netherlands for at least seven months.

History

The introduction of Tallink's first newbuilding, the cruiseferry ''Romantika'', in 2002 on the cruise service between Tallinn and Helsinki was a success. One year after her entry into this service, Tallink's fiercest competitor

Viking Line Viking Line Abp is a Finland, Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferry, ferries and cruiseferry, cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland, Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Ex ...

, announced that they would withdraw their flagship ''Cinderella'' from the same route, replacing her with the more freight-oriented ''Rosella''. This led Tallink to order a bigger ship to replace the ''Romantika'' on 28 October 2004. ''Romantika'', in turn, was needed to join her newly delivered sister ship, the ''Victoria I'', on the Tallinn–

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

route.

Design and construction

Building of the new ship commenced in early 2005 and her keel was laid on 21 April. The shipyard was

, Rauma. The Rauma shipyard had previously built the ''Romantika'' and the ''Victoria I''. On 1 December 2005, the new ship was launched and christened as ''Galaxy''. Designed as a carefully enlarged replica of the ''Romantika'', the ''Galaxy'' is longer and has additional cabins and public areas. Leaving behind the external livery scheme introduced on the ''Romantika'' and her sister, the ''Galaxy'' sports a white hull with a cloud decorated blue superstructure, along with a number of different animals painted on her sides. The design of the livery was made by the Estonian artist Navitrolla.

Helsinki–Tallinn service

After performing her trials, the ''Galaxy'' entered service on the Tallinn–Helsinki route on 2 May 2006. The ship performed one round trip daily between the two capitals but spent most of her time moored in port—on her original route ''Galaxy'' was at sea for less than seven hours per day. In April 2007, less than a year after her introduction, Tallink announced that the ''Galaxy'' was to be transferred to the Stockholm–

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...

Långnäs Långnäs is a port in Lumparland on the eastern mainland of Åland, about 30 km over the road away from Åland's capital Mariehamn. Road ferries to Kumlinge (Snäckö) and Galtby via Föglö (Överö) and Kökar start here. Långnäs is an ...

–

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

route during 2008. She was replaced by her sister ship ''Baltic Princess''.

Stockholm–Turku service

Following the ''Baltic Princess'' replacing ''Galaxy'' on the Tallinn–Helsinki route, ''Galaxy'' replaced ''Silja Festival'' on the Stockholm–Turku route on 23 July 2008. Coinciding with the route change, ''Galaxy'' was re-registered to Sweden.Turun Sanomat 16. 10. 2007: Enn Pant uskoo Galaxyn nostavan matkustajien määrää Turun-reitillä
retrieved 2007-10-16 The ships external livery, as well as her name, was left unchanged, despite an earlier statement made by Tallink that she would be re-painted in Silja livery. A "Silja Line" hull text did replace the "Tallink Cruise" text on her sides, but her Tallink funnel logo was left unaltered. Before beginning service, ''Galaxy'' was docked at

Naantali Naantali (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, town in Southwest Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important centre of tourism in the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located west of Turku. The town h ...

for three days.

Refugee Housing Charter

Starting in September 2022, the ''Galaxy'' is being used as refugee housing in The Netherlands until at least October 2024.

Decks

''Galaxy'' has ten decks.Tallink Silja official website for M/S ''Galaxy''
, retrieved 2007-08-30

References

External links

*
Tallink Silja official website for M/S ''Galaxy''
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galaxy Ferries of Estonia Ferries of Sweden Ships built in Rauma, Finland Cruiseferries 2005 ships