Editing Silja Line (section)

=== 1987–1992 ===
1987 was a very eventful year for Silja. Effoa had purchased the famously fast {{GTS|Finnjet}} the previous year and from the beginning of 1987 the prestigious but unprofitable "Queen of the Baltic Sea" joined Silja Line's fleet. Later in the same year Effoa and Johnson Line jointly purchased [[Rederi Ab Sally]], one of the owners of their rival Viking Line. The other Viking Line partners forced the new owners to sell their share in Viking, but Effoa and Johnson Line retained [[Wasa Line|Vaasanlaivat / Vasabåtarna]], [[Sally Cruises]], [[Sally Ferries UK]] and [[Commodore Cruise Line]]. Although the purchase of Sally had no effect on Silja Line's traffic for the time being, it proved to be important later. Finally, 1987 saw another order of new ships for the Helsinki–Stockholm route, which would again be the largest ferries ever built, eventually named {{MS|Silja Serenade}} and {{MS|Silja Symphony}}. Not revealed at the time, the new ships had a 140-meter promenade-street running along the center of the ship, a feature never seen before in a ship, but by the first decade of the 21st century commonly found on [[Royal Caribbean International]]'s and [[Color Line (ferry operator)|Color Line]]'s newer ships.<ref name="Valkeat" />

In late 1989, [[Wärtsilä Marine]], the shipyard building Silja's new cruiseferries, went bankrupt, which led to the ships being delivered later than had been planned. To ensure the delivery of their ferries Effoa and Johnson Line both purchased a part of the new [[Masa-Yards]] established to continue shipbuilding in Wärtsilä's former shipyards.<ref name="Valkeat" />

[[File:Silja_Symphony_ja_Ruotsin_suurlähetystö.jpg|thumb|right|MS ''Silja Symphony'' in [[South Harbour, Helsinki|Eteläsatama]], Helsinki, Finland]]

The year 1990 saw the realisation of an old vision: Effoa and Johnson Line merged to form [[EffJohn]]. As a result, the seal's head logo replaced the colours of each individual owner company on the funnel. In November, the new MS&nbsp;''Silja Serenade'' made its maiden voyage from Helsinki to Stockholm, approximately seven months after the original planned delivery date. MS&nbsp;''Silja Symphony'' was delivered the following year. Although popular and sporting a successful design, the new ships had been very expensive. This expense, coupled with the depression in the early 1990s, forced EffJohn to cut costs, which resulted in Wasa Line and Sally Cruises being merged into Silja Line in 1992. Also in 1992, ''Svea'' and ''Wellamo'' were modernised and renamed ''Silja Karneval'' and ''Silja Festival'', respectively.<ref name="Loistoristeilijöiden">{{in lang|fi}} [http://www.valkeatlaivat.net/historia/loistoristeilijoiden_ja_tappiovuosien_aikakausi.htm Valkeat laivat: Loistoristelijöiden ja tappiovuosien aikakausi] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006133225/http://www.valkeatlaivat.net/historia/loistoristeilijoiden_ja_tappiovuosien_aikakausi.htm |date=2007-10-06 }}, retrieved 9 October 2007</ref>

[[File:MS Silja Europa leaving Turku.jpg|thumb|right|{{MS|Silja Europa}}, the largest [[cruiseferry]] in the world from 1993 to 2001, was built for [[Viking Line]] but chartered on delivery to Silja Line by the shipyard.]]