Stena orders ships from South Korea Stena Line for service between Rotterdam and Harwich
Stena orders ropax ships from South Korea Stena Line will be putting larger ships into service between Rotterdam and Harwich in 2011, reducing crossing times by one hour. Once again, the Dutch branch of the Swedish Stena Line ferry company has succeeded in acquiring the latest ships from the shipping company. Barely one year after putting two new record-breaking ships, with a garage capacity of 5.5 kilometres, into service on the Hook of Holland to Harwich route Stena Line has plans to significantly increase capacity again on the Europoort-Harwich service in 2011.
Five years ago, Stena Line took over the P&O Ferries service between Europoort and Felixstowe, and transferred the British departure point to Harwich. The ro-ro ships on the route were taken over and renamed. These thirty-year old vessels still provide a daily service in each direction. The Stena Transporter, which can load 1,300 metres of freight, sails in both directions five times a week, while the Stena Partner and Stena Transfer (1,850 metres of freight) each cross the North Sea in both directions six times a week.
These three ships will be replaced in 2011 by two new ships that can carry more than four kilometres of freight. They will be sister ships to the Stena Trader and Stena Traveller, which sail between the Hook of Holland and Killingholme. In contrast to the first two ships, the new vessels will have an extra garage deck from the time of construction. They will also have thirty extra cabins, allowing each ship to carry three hundred passengers (in 130 cabins).
Stena placed the order, worth 294 million dollars, with Samsung Heavy Industries. This South Korean shipyard will deliver the first ship in the first quarter of 2011, followed in the third quarter by the sister ship. With the two new ships the ferry company will offer the same number of sailings per day in each direction. It will therefore offer one sailing less than at present, but daily capacity will increase from 5,000 to 8,000 metres in length in each direction. Because the new ships are considerably faster, the crossing will be reduced from 2011 from 7.5 to 6.5 hours.
Pim de Lange, Stena Line director for the North Sea region, says it is not yet certain what will happen to the Stena Transporter, Partner and Transfer. They may be used to start new routes. De Lange confirmed in July after the naming of the Stena Traveller that he would like to start a service between Europoort and Killingholme. In spite of the fact that Cobelfret Ferries has recently started sailings between Ostend and Harwich, he is still contemplating a ferry service between a Belgian port and Harwich.
Five years ago, Stena Line took over the P&O Ferries service between Europoort and Felixstowe, and transferred the British departure point to Harwich. The ro-ro ships on the route were taken over and renamed. These thirty-year old vessels still provide a daily service in each direction. The Stena Transporter, which can load 1,300 metres of freight, sails in both directions five times a week, while the Stena Partner and Stena Transfer (1,850 metres of freight) each cross the North Sea in both directions six times a week.
These three ships will be replaced in 2011 by two new ships that can carry more than four kilometres of freight. They will be sister ships to the Stena Trader and Stena Traveller, which sail between the Hook of Holland and Killingholme. In contrast to the first two ships, the new vessels will have an extra garage deck from the time of construction. They will also have thirty extra cabins, allowing each ship to carry three hundred passengers (in 130 cabins).
Stena placed the order, worth 294 million dollars, with Samsung Heavy Industries. This South Korean shipyard will deliver the first ship in the first quarter of 2011, followed in the third quarter by the sister ship. With the two new ships the ferry company will offer the same number of sailings per day in each direction. It will therefore offer one sailing less than at present, but daily capacity will increase from 5,000 to 8,000 metres in length in each direction. Because the new ships are considerably faster, the crossing will be reduced from 2011 from 7.5 to 6.5 hours.
Pim de Lange, Stena Line director for the North Sea region, says it is not yet certain what will happen to the Stena Transporter, Partner and Transfer. They may be used to start new routes. De Lange confirmed in July after the naming of the Stena Traveller that he would like to start a service between Europoort and Killingholme. In spite of the fact that Cobelfret Ferries has recently started sailings between Ostend and Harwich, he is still contemplating a ferry service between a Belgian port and Harwich.
