Stena Line signs contract for four new gas-ready RoPax ferries

Stena Line has released a statement claiming that it has signed a contract for an order of four new RoPax ferries. The contract is subject to approval by the board at the end of April 2016, and will include the option for an additional four vessels.

The vessels, which will be built by AVIC Shipyard in China, will be optimised for efficiency and flexibility, and will feature gas-ready main engines, meaning that they are prepared to run on methanol or LNG. They will have a capacity of over 3000 lane metres in a drive-through configuration, and will be capable of carrying approximately 1000 passengers.

The Managing Director of Stena Line, Carl-Johan Hagman, said: “We are very pleased that Stena have signed a contract for four vessels with an option for another four. During the course of the past 24 months our engineering staff has managed to develop a design that is not only 50% larger than today’s standard RoPax vessels, but more importantly, incorporates the emission reduction and efficiency initiatives that have been developed throughout the Stena Group during the past years. These ships will be the most fuel-efficient ferries in the world and will set a new industry standard when it comes to operational performance, emissions and cost competitiveness, positioning Stena Line to support its customers in the next decades.

“With this investment we are building on our successful RoPax concept mixing freight and passengers. Through standardisation we secure a reliable operation and through flexibility we can provide an even better support to our customers and help them to grow.”

Dan Sten Olsson, the Chairman of Stena Line, added: “We foresee a continued demand growth for short sea services in Northern Europe and in many other parts of the world. Ferry transportation will play an essential part in shaping tomorrow’s logistics infrastructure if we are to have sustainable societies. Not only is transportation on sea the most environmentally efficient way of moving goods, it is also infrastructure that provides reliable and speedy logistics with very limited public cost. Through this investment we prepare Stena Line for further growth.”

Edited from press release by David Rowlands

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/05042016/stena-line-signs-contract-for-four-new-gas-ready-ropax-ferries-2227/