Naming ceremony for the world's biggest ice-rated ConRo vessel
WALLENIUS SOL’s new record-breaking vessel Botnia Enabler was christened in the Port of Skellefteå on September 8, 2022.
BOTNIA ENABLER IS NOT ONLY the world’s biggest ice-rated ConRo vessel with multi-fuel operation, but also the biggest ship that has ever called at the Port of Skellefteå. It was with much due pomp and ceremony that invited guests, politicians and representatives of trade and industry bore witness to the ship’s godmother Ulla Löfven when she according to tradition broke a bottle of champagne against the ship’s 242 metre long hull.
“I am honored to be given an assignment like this. I myself have a background in this industry and with climate change in mind it is important that we use the shipping industry” said Ulla Löfven.
Anders Boman, Ulla Löfven and Ragnar Johansson. Photo: Karin Röse
The name Botnia Enabler has its origins in WALLENIUS SOL’s business idea of being an enabler for the base industry in the Gulf of Bothnia, and according to managing director Ragnar Johansson, it was natural that the Port of Skellefteå should host the ceremony.
“The ship sails under the Swedish flag and we are a Swedish company, so we were keen to christen her in Sweden. We began calling at Skellefteå regularly last year, so it seemed natural to carry out the ceremony here as a tribute to the magnificent industrial investments in the north.”
Botnia Enabler will share the Zeebrugge-Antwerp-Kokkola-Oulu-Kemi-Skellefteå-Travemünde route with her sister ship, Baltic Enabler. This means weekly calls with a total capacity of 6,442 lane metres (962 TEU) where trailers, containers, industrial freight and project freight will rub shoulders.
“We have promised to deliver a sustainable infrastructure for northern Sweden and Finland. Now we have kept that promise” concluded WALLENIUS SOL's board chairman Anders Boman, before godmother Ulla Löfven wished the ship and its crew a happy and safe passage across the seas.