G7: Estonian Silja Europa Cruise Ferry to Serve as Accommodation for 1,000 Police Officers and Staff
Estonian cruise ferry Silja Europa to serve as accommodation for 1,000 police officers and staff during G7 Summit in Cornwall, UK.
Miami-based company Landry & Kling Global Cruise Services, has brokered the cruise vessel MS Silja Europa, in partnership with Bibby Marine UK, to serve as housing for 1,000 of the estimated 6,500 police officers tasked with providing security for the high-profile leaders attending the 2021 G7 Summit scheduled for June 11-13 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, England.
This is the first in person meeting of the G7 in two years and is the largest police operation in England this year. Cornwall is a small coastal County known for its natural beauty.
During the G7 event, the vessel’s bars, nightclub, spa and hairdressers will be closed, and no alcohol will be served or sold onboard.
The 60,000-gross ton Silja Europa, which is operated by Estonia-based Tallink Grupp, will reposition from Estonia in advance of the summit to be docked in Falmouth. For ten days, the ship, one of the largest and most popular passenger ferries sailing the Baltic region, will serve as a floating hotel and meeting space for the policing operation.
Landry & Kling is involved with logistics for the project, including coordination with Falmouth Port, the ship, port agent, and UK Port Health. The myriad details for this large-scale project were executed within a compressed timeline of less than four weeks.
“Bringing in an accommodation ship is an ideal option for solving the additional housing needs of this summit,” said Joyce Landry, CEO Landry & Kling. “We can provide large scale accommodations and critically needed facilities, cost effectively, and with little to no impact on the environment or the local infrastructure. The vessel offers hotel grade accommodations and food service and will keep the security services nearby and in close communication. Preparations, negotiations and arrangements that normally take a year or longer to complete were handled in 28 days,” says Landry. “A record for a project of this size.”
Silja Europa is one of the first ships to operate in the UK since the pandemic and Landry stresses that all parties are working closely with Port Health and Public Health UK to ensure compliance with Covid protocols, including social distancing. “The ship has space for more than 3,000 guests, but we are housing around 1,000 police officers and staff.”
Passenger ships, accommodation barges and other seagoing vessels present a turnkey solution to the challenge of housing workers and teams of people. They have been especially useful during the Covid pandemic for projects such as mining, construction, offshore oil & gas, windfarms, film production, floating hospitals, dormitories, and more.
Editor in Chief of Ikon London Magazine, journalist, film producer and founder of The DAFTA Film Awards (The DAFTAs).
