Stena Line: 2 new E-Flexers to join Baltic Sea fleet in 2022

Swedish ferry company Stena Line revealed plans to deploy its two new 240-meter-long fuel-efficient E-Flexer ferries on the Nynäshamn (Sweden) – Ventspils (Latvia) next year.

The ferries will have a capacity for 1,200 passengers, an increase of 33% compared to existing ferries, and a total of 3,600 meters of freight lane meters, an increase of 25%.

The company will thus continue the expansion on the Baltic Sea during 2022, increasing both freight- and passenger capacity.

What is more, Stena Line intends to increase the capacity on the Karlskrona-Gdynia route with the deployment of the two large ferries, Stena Scandica and Stena Baltica.

Over the past year, Stena Line has expanded in the Baltic Sea, increasing both freight and passenger capacity, to cater for increasing demand of sea transportation in the region. This year, Stena Line has already introduced new large ferries on both of their two Latvian routes Nynäshamn-Ventspils and Travemünde-Liepaja.

“Demand for capacity in the region keeps increasing as freight customers continue to expand and travel passengers choose ferry travel as their preferred safe form of transport in the wake of the pandemic. These large, … and fuel-efficient next generation ferries are the flag ships in the modernisation of our fleet as well as our development of sustainable shipping,” Niclas Mårtensson, CEO Stena Line Group, commented.

Up to 30% more energy efficient

The new vessels are said to be among the most energy-efficient RoPax ferries in the world.

The E-Flexer ferries are up to 30% more energy efficient than existing vessels, thanks to optimum design of the hulls, propellers, bulbs, and rudders. The vessels are delivered gas-ready, to allow conversion to methanol or liquid natural gas fuel, according to Stena Line.

The new ferries will be equipped to use shore power during port calls to reduce emissions and the electricity connection also enables conversion to battery hybrid in the future. 

Last week, the ferry operator also said it would deploy two battery-powered ferries by 2030 on the Gothenburg-Frederikshavn route. As disclosed, the Stena Elektra ferries will be “the world’s first fossil fuel-free roll-on/roll-off (RoPax) vessels of their size”, measuring approximately 200 metres in length, with a capacity of 3,000 lane meters and 1,000 passengers. 

Capacity increase on Karlskrona-Gdynia

Stena Line revealed plans to increase the capacity on the Karlskrona-Gdynia route further during 2022 with the deployment of the two large and modern 222-meter RoPax ferries Stena Scandica and Stena Baltica.

The two Visentini vessels have recently been lengthened and modernised and will add 30% freight capacity on the Karlskrona-Gdynia route.

Stena Line operates 37 vessels on 17 ferry routes in Northern Europe.