Edition 2-2010 - Posten Åland

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN 21
M/S �landia and M/S �pollo
�wo new stamps in the Åland passenger ferry series will be issued in �ebruary.
�he M/S �landia and M/S �pollo are featured by artist �åkan �jöström.
The Alandia was built in 1939 as M/S Bastø in
Moss, Norway. The ship had been in Norwegian
service for many years and even been used by the
German army for troop transportation in 1944,
when she came to the newly established company
Rederiaktiebolag Eckerö in 1961. A route for passenger
traffi c between Grisslehamn (Sweden) and
Eckerö (Åland) had been seriously discussed since
1938, but the war intervened and the plans were not
resumed until 20 years later.
FIRST OUT WAS ROSPIGGEN
The specially adapted ferry Rospiggen built for the
company Trafi k AB Grisslehamn–Åland, a forerunner
of Rederiaktiebolag Eckerö, departed on its fi rst
journey in 1960. However, due to certain construction
errors, the ferry was sold to Italy already in 1962.
MANY NEW ROUTES TESTED
During her fi rst year of operation, Alandia ran
under the name Alpha and was the fi rst roll-on/rolloff
car ferry operating in Åland ferry service. During
her fi rst year of operation, the company tested a
variety of routes, one of which was Uusikaupunki–
Grisslehamn with the occasional stop in Mariehamn.
Traffi c to Öregrund (Sweden) was also tested
as were the routes Mariehamn–Stockholm and
Mariehamn–Kapellskär. Eventually, the shipping
company settled for the present fast connection
between Grisslehamn and Berghamn, Eckerö.
WATERLOGGED
On 4 November 1961, Alpha as the ship was still
named, met with trouble when trucks too heavily
loaded had rolled onboard in Uusikaupunki. The