Stena Line takes delivery of upgraded eco-friendly RoPax ferry

Swedish ferry company Stena Line has welcomed its scrubber-fitted roll-on/roll-off passenger (RoPax) ferry following a handover ceremony at the Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey.

According to Stena Line, Stena Scandica (ex Stena Lagan) is fitted with several sustainable features and fuel efficiency improvements, such as hybrid scrubbers, ballast water cleaning systems, twisted leading edge rudder with costa bulb.

Stena Line has been modernizing its European fleet of ferries with the conversion and lengthening of the RoPax ferry.

The vessel is the first of two Visentini vessels that are being lengthened and modernised by Stena RoRo. The second one to be upgraded is Stena Scandica’s sister vessel, Stena Baltica.

The two ships were built in 2005 and previously sailed on Stena Line’s route between Belfast and Birkenhead.

Stena Scandica was split in half and a new 36-meter-long mid-section inserted. The new midsection gives the vessel a new overall length of 222 meters and a cargo capacity of 2,875 meters.

With the refurbishment, the number of cabins increased from 80 to a total of 202 and the passenger capacity now stands at 970 passengers.

The conversion also includes a new bow section enabling drive-through loading and unloading simultaneously on two levels. This, together with internal ramps in both directions, means more efficient loading and unloading resulting in shorter turnaround times in port, according to Stena Line.

“This enlargement of the vessels capacity as well as the new … efficiency measures included in the design results in a significant reduction of the emissions for each lorry as well as shorter turnaround time in the port enabling a lower speed at sea. We are pleased that this complex conversion has been possible to perform despite the challenges caused by the pandemic,” Per Westling, Managing Director Stena RoRo commented.

After a 10-day journey, the RoPax ferry will start operating on Stena Lines route between Nynäshamn in Sweden and Ventspils in Latvia.

The company expects the ferry will enter service in the beginning of July.

“Taking delivery of the large, modern and efficient vessel Stena Scandica is a major milestone for Stena Lineand enables us to continue to grow … in the Baltic Sea. During the year we will increase capacity with 30 % on the Nynäshamn-Ventspils route, and 40 % on the Liepaja-Travemünde route,” Stena Line CEO Niclas Mårtensson concluded.

The project is part of Stena Line’s plans to reduce total CO2 emissions by as much as 30% until 2030 as part of its decarbonization strategy.

Last month, Stena Line’s new extended E-Flexer ferry was launched. The ferry is the fourth out of five next-generation E-Flexer vessels that are designed and built in collaboration with the sister company Stena RoRo at the CMI Jinling Weihai Shipyard.