Naming Ceremony of Multipurpose Deck Cargo Vessel
at STX Turku Shipyard

7 June 2012

On 5 June 2012, the naming ceremony of the multipurpose deck cargo vessel built for Gaiamare Ltd, subsidiary of Meriaura Group was performed at STX Turku Shipyard. Godmother of the vessel, Minister of Transport Merja Kyllönen, gave the ship the name “Meri”. The festive event held on the outfitting dock of the shipyard was witnessed by representatives of the client Gaiamare Ltd, the classification society Bureau Veritas and STX Finland, as well as numerous other guests invited by the shipyard and the shipping company, and representatives from the press.

The multipurpose vessel MS Meri, scheduled for delivery to the client in summer 2012, is 105.4 metres long and approximately 18.8 metres wide. This modern and environmentally friendly deck cargo vessel, designed for global operation, can be utilised for a wide variety of tasks. When delivered, she will be able to operate as a transportvessel for demanding project cargo such as offshore wind farm structures and for energy wood transport in the Baltic Sea area. The ship which has ice class 1A is the first dry cargo vessel in the Baltic Sea built according to the Aker Arctic DASTM design which enables the vessel to operate efficiently astern in ice. The main engines of the vessel can use environmentally friendly bio oil as fuel. The vessel is also capable of operating in oil spill response activities.

“We are very proud to have been given this opportunity to build the innovative and environmentally-friendly ship, MS Meri, on a shipyard located in Turku for a shipowner operating in Turku. This continues the excellent cooperation of several years with Meriaura Group, says Jari Anttila, EVP & COO of STX Finland Oy and Director of STX Turku Shipyard.

“The vessel represents the next generation of ships especially in terms of fuel, versatile functions, environmental friendliness, and energy efficiency,” states Jussi Mälkiä, Chairman of the Board of Meriaura Ltd.

STX Finland Oy has three shipyards in Finland, Turku shipyard, Rauma shipyard and Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Oy, of which STX Finland Oy owns 50%. STX Finland’s subsidiaries include Aker Arctic Technology Oy and STX Cabins Oy. The company is part of the STX Europe Group, an international shipbuilding group with a product range including, in addition to passenger ships, commercial, specialised and offshore vessels, as well as icebreaking specialised vessels. STX Europe is a leading designer and manufacturer of cruise ships and specialised vessels and car-passenger ferries. In total, STX Europe has approximately 14,000 employees. www.stxeurope.com STX Europe’s principal shareholder is the international industrial group STX Business Group, which has production facilities of various industries around the world and a total of approximately 63,000 employees.

Gaiamare Ltd belongs to the Turku-based Meriaura Group. Meriaura Ltd, founded in 1986, specialises in the transport of industrial products and project cargo in the Baltic Sea and Europe. Currently, 14 ice-reinforced dry cargo ships are chartered by the shipping company. The key values of the company are customer-orientation and good service. Cost-effectiveness, technical quality and consideration of environmental values ensure a competitive product.

STX Europe ASA press release