Stena Line is going full steam ahead with its fleet investment programme with the float out of the second vessel in its new generation E-Flexer series.
The second vessel will be named Stena Edda and follows the Scandinavian heritage decided for the five new vessels that are being constructed at the Avic Weihai Shipyard in China. The Edda is an old Norse term that refers to a central medieval collection of poems and divine mythology.
The first E-Flexer ferry, the Stena Estrid, was launched in January this year. The video below shows the launch of this first vessel and provides some extra information on the E-Flexer series.
Bound for the Irish Sea in 2020
Stena Edda is scheduled to enter service on the Belfast-Liverpool route in spring 2020. This is the second of three new E-Flexer vessels bound for the Irish Sea during 2020 and 2021 and represents a significant multi-million investment by Stena Line in the region.
The float out ceremony started at 13.18 hrs local Weihai time today and at 18.00 Stena Edda floated out of the dock. These timings were chosen especially because 18 is a number of good fortune in China.
Almost 20% More Capacity
At 215 metres, all three vessels being built for the Irish Sea will be larger than today’s standard RoPax vessels and will provide freight capacity of 3100 lane meters and the space to carry 120 cars and 1000 passengers and crew. For Belfast-Liverpool capacity will increase by almost 20% compared to today. The next generation vessel is also in line with the Stena Line strategic commitment to sustainability and will be extremely fuel efficient to reduce emissions.
Faster and Easier Loading and Unloading
‘Stena Edda will deliver many benefits to our freight and travel customers including faster and easier loading/unloading with drive through decks and new port infrastructures. Our latest design in cabins and further enhancement of our Scandinavian inspired interiors will make these new ships the largest, most spacious and most comfortable ships ever to sail between Belfast and Liverpool,’ said Paul Grant, Stena Line’s Trade Director, Irish Sea North.
Two Larger E-Flexers
In addition to the three Irish Sea bound E-Flexer vessels, Stena Line has also ordered a further two E-Flexer RoPax vessels with a larger design, to be deployed within Stena Line’s network in 2022. These larger ships will be 240 meters long with a total freight capacity of 3600 lane meters, and passenger capacity of 1200. Stena Lines’ sister company Stena RoRo is managing all the E-Flexer building projects that are ongoing on Avic Weihai Shipyard.
Stena Line is the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea and its routes include Holyhead to Dublin, Fishguard to Rosslare, Liverpool/Heysham to Belfast and Cairnryan to Belfast, a total of 232 weekly sailings. The company also offers a direct service from Rosslare to Cherbourg with three return crossings a week.
Picture: Stena Edda just before the water started to fill up the dry dock.
