Although the delivery in 2002 of 13 ocean-going cruiseships and a unique apartment/resort vessel maintained the vigorous fleet development pattern of recent years, with some increase in the influx of lower berth capacity at an estimated 25 000 or so, new contractual activity was at a low ebb. And while newbuilding additions this year and next are projected to remain at a buoyant level, as measured in overall new passenger capacity, deliveries from 2005 onwards are expected to show a pronounced decline in the absence of a recovery in ordering. Against the backcloth of a paucity of fresh shipbuilding business, Birka Line's investment in a dedicated cruise vessel for the Baltic market assumed added significance. Intended to make 20-hour cruises from Stockholm to Mariehamn, on the Aland Islands, the 33 000gt newbuild booked with Aker Finnyards has been design-engineered to exacting environmental standards.
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