MS Botnia was a ferry ordered by Siljarederiet Ab in 1965 and constructed by Oy Wärtsilä Ab between 1966 and 1967. It was set to sail between Turku and Norrtälje. The ship has a sister ship called .
The ferry sailed between Turku and Norrtälje, and Turku and Stockholm throughout its service for the Silja Line. In 1968 the ship collided with Ilmatar in an incident that killed six people. In 1975 Botnia was sold to Compañia Trasmediterranea S.A. for 20,385,000 Finnish markka (adjusted for inflation around 20 million euros in today's money).[1]
The ship was renamed under its new owner to Ciudad de la Laguna and operated services between the Canary Islands and Tenerife. In 1999 it was sold again to Naviera Armas SA.[1]
The ship operated services and day cruises from Arguineguín and Las Palmas before being renamed in 2007 to Assalama. The ship ran aground outside Tarfaya on its way to the Canary islands. The ship started taking on water fast, forcing the captain to order the passengers to the lifeboats and evacuate. Towing the ferry was attempted but this failed and Assalama sank on 30 April 2008.[1]