Vartiovene 55
{{Short description|Former Finnish Navy R-class patrol boat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = File:Vartiovene 55 from the side.jpg | Ship caption = Vartiovene 55 in Helsinki }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Finland}} | Ship name = Vartiovene 55 | Ship owner = Wave and Soul Cruises | Ship namesake = | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Turku harbour | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 2 July 1959 | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = 29 October 1959 | Ship decommissioned = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship honours = | Ship homeport = Helsinki | Ship honors = | Ship fate = | Ship status = Laid up | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = | Ship type = Commercial cruise ship (previously minesweeper) | Ship tonnage = | Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{Convert|36.0|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = | Ship height = | Ship draught = {{Convert|2.0|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} | Ship draft = | Ship depth = | Ship hold depth = | Ship decks = | Ship deck clearance = | Ship ramps = | Ship ice class = | Ship power = *2{{nbsp}}×{{nbsp}}V12
| Ship propulsion = | Ship speed = {{convert|20|kn}} | Ship range = | Ship endurance = | Ship boats = | Ship capacity = | Ship troops = | Ship complement = | Ship crew = | Ship time to activate = | Ship sensors = *British 163A sonar sensors
| Ship EW = | Ship armament = *none
| Ship armour = | Ship armor = | Ship aircraft = | Ship aircraft facilities = | Ship notes = }} |
Vartiovene 55 is a former Finnish Navy R-class patrol boat bought into private ownership and converted into a commercial cruise ship. It can be rented for private pleasure trips on the Baltic Sea.
History
Originally named Röyttä, the ship was built as a minesweeper in the Turku harbour on 2 July 1959. It was originally numbered 5, but the number was changed to 55 in the middle 1970s. Röyttä and its sister ships, Ruissalo, Raisio, Rihtniemi and Rymättylä, were originally designed to serve as coastal minesweepers, based at Pansio.
In June 1969, a new patrol fleet was founded and Röyttä and Raisio moved to Upinniemi. Röyttä underwent a redesign in 1980. Röyttä and its sister ships served the Finnish Navy until the end of the 1990s. Since then, Rihtniemi and Rymättylä were transferred to the Estonian Navy, Ruissalo was scrapped and Raisio was sold completely stripped of its armament and equipment.
Current situation
File:Patrol Boat 55 in Tampere May2010.jpg, prior to its transfer to Helsinki.]]
The Finnish Navy resigned ownership of the ship in 1999, and since 2006 it has been in private ownership, stripped of its armament. Since 2012, it has been in commercial use in Helsinki. The ship is owned by the company Wave and Soul Cruises, which rents the ship for private trips and maintains the ship's condition.
Facilities
References
{{reflist|refs=
| last = Karppinen
| first = Anne
| title = Miinanraivaaja kuskaa firmojen väkeä
| website = Ilta-Sanomat
| date = 13 June 2007
| url = https://www.is.fi/taloussanomat/art-2000001513903.html
| language = fi
| access-date = 14 November 2024
}}
| last = McPharlin
| first = Molly
| title = Vartiovene55: Experience a warship charter cruise in the safety of Finnish waters
| website = Scan Magazine
| date = 1 September 2024
| url = https://scanmagazine.co.uk/vartiovene55-experience-a-warship-charter-cruise-in-the-safety-of-finnish-waters/
| access-date = 14 November 2024
}}
}}