Viking Line Ferry Athena 1989

A film of the construction of the Viking Line ferry MS Athena by the Wärtsilä shipyard, the Athena was the largest ferry in the world when it entered service in 1989. The Athena was built for the shipping company Rederi Ab Slite and put into service on the Viking Line route Stockholm - Mariehamn. In 1993, after the bankruptcy of Rederi Ab Slite, Athena was sold to the shipping company Star Cruises and renamed Star Aquarius. Only some time later, the ship was renamed Langkapuri Star Aquarius and was in service for mini cruises from Singapore and later Hong Kong. In 2001, the ship was renamed again to Aquarius and sold to the Danish shipping company DFDS in the same year. The ship was renamed Pearl of Scandinavia and put into service in June on the Copenhagen - Helsingborg - Oslo route. In 2011, the ship was renamed Pearl Seaways. In January 2025, the ship was renamed Nordic Pearl and has been sailing on the Copenhagen - Oslo route since February 2025, now under the flag of the Gotlandsbolaget shipping company. #vikingline #mariehamn #stockholm