MS Megastar, a fast ferry of listed Estonian shipper Tallink which began operating the Tallinn-Helsinki route at the end of January, has in the first six months of the year become the vessel to have carried the most passengers on the Baltic Sea.

Altogether 1.1 million people have traveled with the Megastar in the first six months of 2017, averaging approximately 6,000 people per day, according to Tallink.

"Six months ago, we promised that Megastar would launch a new era of fast ferries," AS Tallink Grupp Sales and Marketing Director Margus Hunt said. "If we look at passenger interest and the feedback we have received from them, the contributions of the crew to managing the ship every day, the choice in services and products on offer on the ship as well as the technology of the ship and the achieved technical results, then the new era on the Tallinn-Helsinki route has begun."

Compared to the MS Star, the other fast ferry operating the Helsinki route, the Megastar is one-third more powerful and can carry a total of 2,800 passengers, while its environmental footprint remains the same or even smaller. While operating, the LNG-powered vessel no longer emits sulfur oxides or soot particles and the level of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide has decreased as well.

Megastar is also the largest so-called floating department store on the Baltic Sea, with stores located on two decks, Tallink noted. The ferry also includes open-plan dining areas, various seating lounges and carefully considered shopping solutions. The cost of the Megastar totaled €230 million, representing one of the largest investments made in the Estonian private sector in recent years.

VES/ERR News