On Friday 18th August 2017, a ‘steel cutting ceremony’ was held at the AVIC Weihai Shipyard in China to mark the start of the construction of the first of four RoPax vessels ordered by Stena. The vessels have a planned delivery timetable during 2019 and 2020 with Stena having an option on a further four vessels as part of the overall contract.
The vessels will be 50% larger than today’s standard RoPax vessels and this significant investment will see a continuation of Stena Line’s successful RoPax concept which mixes freight and passengers as part of its operational business model.
“Through standardisation and built-in flexibility, we are planning to secure a highly reliable ferry operation which will provide even better support to our customers and help them to grow. We foresee continued growth within ferry transportation and this is an important step in preparing our business for that growth. At this stage, we are planning to introduce the vessels onto the Irish Sea”, says Niclas Mårtensson, CEO of Stena Line.
The vessels will have a capacity of more than 3 000 lane meters in a drive-through configuration and will accommodate approximately 1 000 passengers and offer a full range of passenger services. They are being built in line with Stena Line’s key strategic focus on sustainability.
“The new RoPax vessels will be among the most fuel efficient in the world with approximately 25% lower CO2 emissions per cargo unit than comparable RoPax tonnage. Our aim is to lead the development of sustainability within the shipping industry and set a new industry standard when it comes to operational performance, emissions and cost competiveness. The vessels will run on traditional fuel, but are designed to the class notation “gas ready” and are also prepared for scrubbers as well as catalytic converters, giving us even greater flexibility for the future”, says Niclas Mårtensson.
Technical details – E-Flexer
Length: 214,5 m
Draught: 6,4 m
Breadth: 27,8 m
Car deck capacity: 3,100 lane meter + 120 cars
Passenger capacity: 1,000
Cabins: 175
Engines: 2 x V12 4-stroke diesel (2 x 12,600 kW)
Speed: 22 knots
Built: AVIC Weihai Shipyard, China