Stena Line to use lengthened ferries on Baltic Sea route

Stena Lagan and Stena Mersey were built at the Italian shipyard Cantiere Navale Visentini in 2005 and have been operating on Stena Line’s Irish Sea route between Belfast and Liverpool for the last 10 years. To create a more standardised and modern flexible fleet, the two vessels will be upgraded, modified and lengthened before returning to Stena Line to operate on the Nynäshamn-Ventspils route from 2021.

The conversion will be conducted by Stena RoRo and Sedef Shipyard in Turkey. Both vessels will be lengthened with a 36-m mid-section and post-conversion they will be 222 m long with a capacity of 200 cabins, 970 passengers, 2,875 freight lane m and an additional car deck. The company said this will boost the freight capacity on the route by 30% and improve the onboard experience.

To increase loading efficiency, they will also be modified with drive through capabilities on two levels. The vessels will also be fitted with hybrid scrubbers.

Interiors will be updated to add new cabin categories, a new shop, and lounge areas with reclining chairs and a sundeck. A separate dining offer for the freight drivers will also be added to the route with the new vessels.

Chief executive Niclas Mårtensson said Stena Line is responding to an increase in demand from customers across the wider Baltic Sea region adding “We are strengthening our position and customer offering further with new modern vessels and more capacity.”

Stena Lagan is currently at the Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey, and is planned to start operating on the Nynäshamn-Ventspils route early 2021. Stena Mersey is still operating on the Belfast-Liverpool route where it will be replaced by the third E-Flexer Stena Embla in January 2021 before leaving for lengthening at the Sedef Shipyard.

Stena Line operates 18 routes in Europe with three of them across the Baltic Sea. Since acquiring the Nynäshamn-Ventspils ferry route, the company has more than doubled its operations from one vessel and 10 departures per week, to the current fixed timetable of two vessels and 24 departures per week.