New Stena Line ferries on Nynäshamn-Ventspils route

Ferry company Stena Line has announced an expansion and strengthening of their operations across the Baltic Sea region. Next year the current vessels on the Nynäshamn-Ventspils route will be replaced with two modern ferries: Stena Lagan and Stena Mersey. The new ferries will offer an attractive way for passengers to travel on the Baltic Sea. Also, they will add further 30 per cent freight capacity on the route.

Stena Line is one of the world’s leading ferry companies with 18 ferry routes in Europe. Three of them are operating across the Baltic Sea. Since Stena Line acquired the ferry route between Nynäshamn in Sweden and Ventspils in Latvia in 2012, it has more than doubled its operations from one vessel and 10 departures per week, to the current fixed timetable, which has two vessels and 24 departures per week for passengers and freight.

Stena Line has now announced an expansion and strengthening of their position and offer to both passengers and freight customers in the Baltic Sea with the deployment of the two modern and lengthened RoPax-vessels Stena Lagan and Stena Mersey on the Nynäshamn-Ventspils route during 2021. Those two comfortable ferries will improve the onboard experience for passengers, making Stena Line an attractive choice for the travellers on the Baltic Sea. Also, the freight capacity of the route will increase by almost a third.The ferries with impressive 222 m length will offer much space for both passengers and freight. The interior will be modernized to well-known Stena Line Scandinavian design, light and spacious. Passengers will benefit from new amendments. The ferries will feature new cabin categories, a large modern onboard shop, lounge areas with reclining chairs and many other outlets, including 2 restaurants, bar, café and sundeck.
The number of cabins will almost double offering as many as 764 comfortable beds. The journey will be more attractive thanks to numerous onboard facilities. Passengers can spend their time in the bar, enjoy a three course meal in the restaurant or sip a coffee in onboard café. Sundeck will provide all with fresh air, exiting views of the sea and maybe some suntan during the summer.

“We have seen an increase in demand from our customers across the wider Baltic Sea region. We are now strengthening our position and customer offer further with new modern vessels and more capacity” says Niclas Mårtensson, CEO Stena Line.

Lengthened vessels from the Irish Sea

The two modern RoPax-vessels Stena Lagan and Stena Mersey were built at the Italian shipyard Visentini in 2005 and have been operating on Stena Line’s Irish Sea route between Belfast and Liverpool for the last 10 years. To create a more standardised and modern flexible fleet the two vessels will be upgraded, modified and lengthened before returning to Stena Line to operate on the Nynäshamn-Ventspils route from 2021. The ground-breaking conversion is conducted by Stena RoRo and Sedef Shipyard in Turkey.

The two vessels will be lengthened with a 36 metres mid-section and after the conversion they will be 222 m long and have a capacity of 200 cabins, 970 passengers and 2,875 freight lane meters plus the additional car deck; adding another 30 per cent freight capacity on the route. To increase the loading efficiency they will also be modified with drive through capabilities on two levels. The vessels will also be fitted with hybrid scrubbers.

The first of the two vessels, Stena Lagan is currently at the Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey, where it is planned to start operating on the Nynäshamn-Ventspils route in the beginning of 2021. Stena Mersey is still operating on the Belfast-Liverpool route and will be replaced by the third E-Flexer Stena Embla in January 2021 before leaving for her lengthening at the Sedef Shipyard. She is expected to return to service on her new route later during the year.

”We continue to build on our successful RoPax concept, combining freight and passengers. These two new vessels will be a fantastic addition to the fleet and for our customers. I am looking forward to welcoming them onboard, says Johan Edelman, Trade Director Baltic Sea North at Stena Line since 1 October.

About the route:

The crossing time of 8.5 hours is the fastest sea-connection between Sweden and the Baltic countries. The route is a popular choice for both transport and tourism and is a vital supply line to both the manufacturing and construction industry in Sweden.

Ship Facts: The new vessels

Name: Stena Lagan & Stena Mersey

Built: 2005 at the Italian shipyard Cantiere Navale Visentini

Modified/Lenghtened: by Stena RoRo during 2020/2021 at the Sedef Shipbuilding in Tuzla, Turkey.

Length: 222 metres

Passenger capacity: 970

Freight capacity: 2,875 lane metres

Cabin capacity: 200

For more information, please contact:

Phone: +46 (0)31 85 85 32

Email: press@stenaline.com

Stena Line´s Baltic Sea operation on the routes Ventspils (Latvia) - Nynäshamn (Sweden) and Liepaja (Latvia) - Travemünde (Germany) is managed by Stena Rederi A/S, a consolidation of Stena AB’s Danish ferry and shipping activities in Hellerup. Stena Line is one of Europe's leading ferry companies with 36 vessels and 18 routes in Northern Europe. Stena Line is part of the Stena AB Group, which has about 16 000 employees and an annual turnover of around 37 billion SEK.