RoPax10

20 / NEWBUILDING
JPE
The “Stena Estrid” is the first of five
new Stena Line next generation
RoPax vessels that are being constructed
at the AVIC Weihai Shipyard in China.
The new RoPax vessel entered service on
13th January 2020 between Holyhead
and Dublin on the Irish Sea. Two other
E-Flexer RoPax vessels will follow. The
“Stena Edda” was on her delivery voyage
in January/February to start operations
on the Liverpool (Birkenhead)-Belfast
service in spring 2020 whilst the “Stena
Embla” will follow in 2021 to also join
the same route. RoPax magazine has
been on board the “Stena Estrid” and
tested this very nice and comfortable
vessel.
Stena Line is one of the world’s leading ferry
operators with a long history of unique
design and technology development. The
E-Flexer Class design was no exception in
this history of ferry construction and was
developed over a period of three years. After
a competition of different marine architect
offices for the hull concept, Deltamarin
was chosen as the design company for
this new generation of RoPax vessels. The
first six 1,000 passenger capacity ships of
the type have a gross tonnage of 41,671gt
and are 214.5 metres (704 ft) in length,
with a beam of 27.8 metres (91 ft) and a
draft of 6.4 metres (21 ft). The freight deck
has a capacity of 3,100 lanemetres with additional
space for up to 120 cars in a separate
garage located aft on Deck 7. The entrance
to the Guest Services reception and
the restaurant deck leads directly from the
car garage as both areas are on the same
level. The E-Flexer ferries have a total of
ten decks, including three decks dedicated
for passengers with 175 cabins, and a maximum
crew of 73 with 64 crew cabins available.
The E-Flexer Class is so-called because the
design is flexible and can be adapted for
different types of size and usability. So far,
Stena RoRo has ordered a total of 9 E-Flexer
ferries from the Chinese AVIC Weihai
yard (renamed China Merchants Jinling
Shipbuilding (Weihai) Co. Ltd. before the
first ship in the order was delivered). At
present, Stena Line will operate five of the
series, Brittany Ferries will charter three
and one will go to DFDS on ten-year charters.
The second and third Brittany Ferries
E-Flexers will be built with an LNG propulsion
system and a different deck design
to incorporate the LNG tanks. The first of
the trio of ships for Brittany ferries will be
delivered in autumn 2020 with standard
engines and an exhaust scrubber system.
This ship will be named “Galicia” with her
LNG fuelled sisters being named Salamanca
and Santona. The ship chartered to
DFDS will be named Cote D’Opale and
will go to the Dover-Calais service. Newbuilds
No.8 and No.9 (Yard Nos. W0271
and W0272) are also reserved for Stena
Line and will be larger at 240 metres long
with 3,600 lanemetres of freight capacity,
a 300-car capacity garage, a passenger capacity
of 1,200 people and a gross tonnage
of 45,000gt. At the time of writing there
were still three E-Flexer options remaining
that had not become firm orders.
HIGH COMFORT FOR
SHORT SEA TRAVEL
The name Estrid is connected to Stena
Line’s Scandinavian heritage. It is an Old
Norse eastern-nordic version of the name
Astrid. Estrid is commonly found on old
runestones and means ‘divinely beautiful’.
The “Stena Estrid” operates daily on the
Dublin - Holyhead route with a crossing
time of 3 hours and 15 minutes. Four
departures from both ports are offered in
combination with the partner vessel
“Stena Adventurer”
On “Stena Estrid” there are lots of fantastic
facilities to enjoy. The passenger amenities
are located on Decks 7, 8 and 9. As
mentioned above, the pure car deck is located
on Deck 7 aft and this adjoins the
reception area (passengers also collect
their cabin keys from here). This area is also
shared with a 24-hour Barista Coffee
Shop with seating for around 130 people
as well as access to the outside promenade
decks on both sides of the vessel.
Midships on Deck 7 is the retail outlet
(perhaps the location of a duty-free shop
in the future). Along the port side of this
deck is a walkway forwards from reception,
passing the shop, the Happy World
Main cargo deck
children’s corner and a seating area. Situated
forward on Deck 7 is the large Taste
Restaurant. A wide variety of British and
international cuisine is served here plus
tasty burgers and salads.
Midship on Deck 8 is the large Sky Bar beneath
a bright atrium. From this area passengers
can walk through on both sides to
the front, passing on the starboard side a
gaming area and the entrance to the
170-seater truckers lounge. On the port
side is the newsroom plus the 32-seat
‘Hygge’ premium reclining lounge. Hygge
is a Danish term that means enjoying life,
living in the moment and creating joy and
cosiness wherever you are, and this lounge
allows you to do just that.
JPE
RoPax 10 / 03.2020