MS SNAV Toscana

MS "SNAV Toscana" is a cruiseferry owned by the Mediterranean Shipping Company and operated by the Italy-based SNAV. She was ordered from Öresundsvarvet in Landskrona, Sweden by Rederi AB Gotland as MS "Gotland", but delivered as MS "Wasa Star" to Vaasanlaivat / Vasabåtarna. Between 1984 and 2008 she sailed as MS "Peter Wessel" for Larvik Line (until 1996) and Color Line, before sold to her current owners.

Concept and construction

In the late 1970s the Swedish shipbuilding industry was suffering from a downturn, with little to no ships in order from Swedish shipyards. To help the industry the Swedish Prime Minister Ola Ullsten persuaded Rederi AB Gotland to order new ferries from Öresundsvarvet in Landskrona. Although Rederi AB Gotland were reluctant to order new ships at first, in the end they decided to order two large, state-of-the-art ferries, capable of carrying over 2000 passengers. [sv icon [http://www.visby1980.se/historik.htm M/S Visby: Historik] , retrieved 31. 8. 2007] The first ship, MS "Visby", was delivered on October 10 1980. [sv icon [http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/visby_1980.htm Fakta om Fartyg: M/S Visby (1980)] , retrieved 31. 8. 2007] The second ship, planned to be called MS "Gotland", was delivered on 24 June 1981 to Rederi Ab Gotland. However, there were not enough passengers in the traffic from Gotland to the Swedish mainland, on one day following her delivery the ship was chartered to Vaasanlaivat / Vasabåtarna, Finland and officially named MS "Wasa Star".

ervce history

1981—1983: Vaasanlaivat and Karageorgios Line

On 1 July 1981 the brand new "Wasa Star" started traffic on the route connecting Vaasa in Finland to Sundsvall in Sweden. At the time she was by far the largest ferry to have ever sailed in the Kvarken. In February 1982 the ship was moved to the Vaasa - Umeå route. On 14 February 1981 the ship was grounded near Holmsund. She soon came loose but her tanks were damaged, and the ship sailed to Helsinki for repairs. Unfortunately the shipyard did not a have a free drydock for the repairs, and on on 16 February 1981 the "Wasa Star" continued from Helsinki to HDW Kiel, Germany where she was finally repaired.

On 1 April 1982 the "Wasa Star" returned to the Vaasa - Sundsvall route. She was not profitable however, and on 31 August 1982 she was taken out of traffic and laid up in Sundsvall. There she remained until May 1983, when Vaasanlaivat sub-chartered her to Karageorgios Line, Greece and she left Sundsvall for Valletta, Malta where she was docked in preparation for her new service. In June she started trafficking on a route connecting Patras, Greece to Ancona, Italy with one weekly trip from Ancona to Igoumenitsa, Greece. However, due to a payment dispute between Vaasanlaivat and Karageorgios Line "Wasa Star"'s service in the Mediterranean remained short, and she sailed to Landskrona, Sweden to be laid up.

1983—1996: Larvik Line

On 29 August 1983, after the various conflicting charter agreements were resolved, the "Wasa Star" was sold to the Norwegian operator Larvik Line. She left Landskrona on 13 January 1984. In March of the same year she was renamed MS "Peter Wessel", after Peter Wessel Tordenskiold and started operating on the Larvik–Frederikshavn route.

The "Peter Wessel" collided with MS "Sydfjord" on June 27 1986. the Sydfjord sunk following the collision, and her crew were evacuated onboard the Peter Wessel. "Peter Wessel" was extended by convert|22.5|m|ftin|abbr=on meters at Blohm + Voss, Hamburg, Germany in 1988. Additional cabins were also built on the top of the ship.

1996—2008: Color Line

In October 1996 Color Line chartered the "Peter Wessel" from Larvik Line, keeping her on the same route as before. In 1999 parts of the cardeck were built in with cabins, decreasing her car capacity. In spring 2003 the ship was rebuilt again, this time at Remontowa, Poland with large side sponsons for increased stabity. In 2004 Color Line bought the "Peter Wessel" from Larvik Line.

In April 2006 the ship was transferred to the Larvik—Hirtshals route. On March 22 2007 a fire broke out in one of the ship's electric switchboards, which forced her to sail to Frederikshavn. Due to repairs the ship was forced to stay out of service for over a month, returning to service on April 26 2007.

On 19 October 2007 Color Line reported that the "Peter Wessel" has been sold to Mediterranean Shipping Company, to be delivered after the delivery of the new "Color Superspeed 2" in April-May 2008. [no icon [http://www.colorline.no/pages/infoCenter/infoCenterArticle.faces?contentId=1.3669&gridId=0.0 Color Line press release 19. 10. 2007: Avtale om salg av M/S Peter Wessel] , retrieved 21. 11. 2007] The "Peter Wessel" was delivered to her new owners on 16 April 2008 and subsequently renamed MS "SNAV Toscana".

2008 onwards: SNAV

On 19 April 2008 the "SNAV Toscana" left Norway for the Mediterranean. She is due to enter service on SNAV's Civitavecchia—Olbia service during 2008.

Facilities

Restaurants and cafés

*Admiralen à la carte
*Kommandøren Buffet Restaurant
*Skagerak
*Café Boulevarden
*Silent Lounge

Activities

*Color Land
*Cinema

Bars, Nightclubs and entertainment

*Dynekilen Bar
*Neptun Pianobar
*Skagerak

hopping

*Taxfree Supermarked
*Color Shop
*Perfume Shop

Conference

*Color Conference Center

References

External links

* [http://www.snav.it/ SNAV official website]

de:M/S SNAV Toscana