The vessels, that are planned to be delivered in 2022, are the last of five vessels of the E-Flexer series that Stena Line ordered from sister company Stena RoRo, that are being built at the CMI Jinling Weihai Shipyard in China.
Of the first three vessels, the first two, STENA ESTRID and STENA EDDA, have already entered service on the Irish Sea earlier this year. The third vessel, STENA EMBLA, is in the final stages of construction and is expected to go in to service on the Belfast-Liverpool route according to plan in early 2021.
The two larger E-Flexer vessels will be 240m long with a capacity of 3,600 lane meters, compared to the first three which are 214m and have a capacity of 3,100 lane meters. In total, the larger vessels also get 50 % more cabins and beds, 30 % increased passenger capacity and an additional 15% cargo capacity.
In addition to the five new builds another two existing vessels in the fleet, STENA LAGAN and STENA MERSEY, will be extended by 36 metres and modified with efficient drive-through capabilities for loading and unloading in two levels. In total the modifications will increase the cargo capacity by 30% and add on a total of 75 cabins. The two vessels are expected to be back in traffic in Stena Line’s network in 2021.
