M/S Princess Anastasia - Joint-issue stamps by Aland and Russia 12.8.2013

Passenger Ferries featured on new joint-issue stamps by Aland and Russia

Posten Aland issued a “Passenger ferry” stamp in cooperation with the Russian post on 12^th August, 2013.

This year’s second stamp in the passenger ferry series by Aland Post features M/S Princess Anastasia. The ship operates on the route Stockholm-Tallinn-St Petersburg-Helsinki. Ordered by Swedish shipping company Rederi Ab Slite, M/S Princess Anastasia was built in 1986 by Wartsila shipyard in Turku to be placed in the service of Viking Line. She was named M/S Olympia and was sister ship of Viking Line’s M/S Mariella. M/S Olympia operated for Viking Line between Stockholm and Helsinki from 1988 to 1993.
When Rederi Ab Slite went bankrupt in 1993, she was sold to P&O Ferries and, between 1993 and 2010 she served mostly between Portsmouth in England and Bilbao in Spain, now with the name M/S Pride of Bilbao. On 2 April 2011, St Peter Line placed the ship in traffic on the route Stockholm-Tallinn-St Petersburg-Helsinki under her new name M/S Princess Anastasia. From August 2011 until April 2012, Mariehamn (Aland Islands capital) was one of the ports of call on her voyage.

Thank you My Dear Friend Ella for this lovely set of FDCs and the  pretty maxicard with the picture of the Anastasia Ferry and the stamps and postmarks of the two countries, Aland and Russia.