As Morski writes on the 17th of January, 2020, the Finnish shipping company Viking Line has announced that it is selling “Amorella”, a passenger ship of Croatian production which was constructed in the well known Split shipyard Brodosplit.
By the end of 2020, it will be replaced by a new Viking Glory ship arriving from Xiamen Shipyard in China. Amorella sails under the Finnish flag and its home port is Mariehamn, often referred to as the very gateway to the Baltic sea.
The sale was confirmed by Viking Line CEO Jan Hanses. Although, he says, there were shipping companies that showed interest in Amorella, the sale will be delayed until a new ship is delivered to the Finns because the company doesn’t want to get itself into the unfortunate situation of not having a vessel at all for a period of time.
M / S Amorella was, as stated, built in Brodosplit, more precisely in the special facilities shipyard. It is the first is of four twin ships: M / S Isabella, M / S Gabriella and M / S Crown Seaways, all of which were built in the aforementioned Split shipyard.
The ship was ceremonially transhipped on September the 28th, 1988. It was the pride of the City of Split and of course of Brodosplit at the time, and the ship can accommodate almost two thousand passengers and 400 vehicles, which was a huge highlight back in the late eighties. The American Maritime Reporter & Engineer News also proclaimed Amorella the most brilliant ship of the year.
Duška Boban and Nikola Bajto have written a book on the ship made in Split called “Amorella – a floating city”. Lordan Zafranovic filmed the award-winning documentary “Amorella – A Road to the Future” back in 1989, which showcases footage of the construction, the launch and the eventual handover of this famous vessel in the Dalmatian city of Split.
Tena Perishin and Sime Strikoman also created the television report “With Amorella across the Baltic” back in 1991, in much more turbulent times for Croatia.
Watch the video below:
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