Stena Line takes delivery of third new ferry to join Irish Sea fleet in 2020
Swedish ferry company Stena Line has officially taken ownership of its newest ferry, Stena Embla, following a handover ceremony in Weihai, China, the company said in its release. The vessel is the third of five new next-generation E-Flexer RoPax vessels that are being constructed at the CMI Jinling Weihai Shipyard, as part of an extensive modernisation of the company's fleet.
It is last of three new vessels due for the Irish Sea, which marks the end of a 7-year development programme totalling a £400m investment in new ferries and port infrastructure in the region The vessel will now embark on a six-week journey to the UK and Ireland, where it will begin service in January 2021, joining its sister vessels, the other two new E-Flexer ferries built in Weihai, Stena Estrid and Stena Embla, which started in operation in earlier this year.
Due to the pandemic the handover was a lower key affair than previous vessels with Stena Embla's Senior Master Neil Whittaker, and his team, taking delivery in China.
At 215 metres in length, Stena Embla will provide freight capacity of 3,100 lane metres, meaning a 40% increase in freight tonnage, and the space to carry 120 cars and 1,000 passengers and crew. The remaining two E-Flexer vessels under construction in China are even larger versions with a total length of 240 metres. The destination of the as-yet-un-named ferries has not yet been revealed.
Stena Line is the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea, offering the biggest fleet and the widest choice of routes between Ireland and Britain including Dublin to Holyhead, Rosslare to Fishguard, Belfast to Cairnryan, and the Belfast to Liverpool and Heysham routes, a total of 232 weekly sailing options. Stena Line also offers a direct service from Rosslare to Cherbourg with three return crossings a week, which is increasing to 7 crossings every fortnight from 1st January 2020.
ABOUT STENA LINE
Stena Line is one of Europe's leading ferry companies with 36 vessels and 18 routes in Northern Europe. Stena Line is an important part of the European logistics network and develops new intermodal freight solutions by combining transport by rail, road and sea. Stena Line also plays an important role for tourism in Europe with its extensive passenger operations. The company is family-owned, was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Gothenburg. Stena Line is part of the Stena AB Group, which has about 16 000 employees and an annual turnover of around 37 billion SEK.
