Stena RoRo, which is part of the Stena group in Sweden, has ordered three E-Flexer roro newbuildings at the CMI Jinling (Weihai) shipyard in China, taking the total of the type to be built to 12.
Five units of the class have been delivered so far and they are used by a number of ferry companies. The tenth ship will be chartered out to Marine Atlantic in Canada and Brittany Ferries will charter ships number 11 and 12.
Already so far, two variants of the type have been built, with lengths of approximately 212 m and 240 m, respectively. The now ordered vessels will also have different specifications
Ship 10 Ships 11 and 12
Length 202.9 m 194.7 m
Beam 27.8 m 27.8 m
Draft 6.45 m 6.5 m
Passengers 1,100 1,400
Lane metres 2,571 2,377 (Ship 11)
2,571 (Ship 12)
The Britany Ferries’ ships will operate between Portsmouth in the UK and Quistreham (Caen) and St. Malo in France, respectively, two of Brittany Ferries' primary routes.
“The two ships, together with three previously ordered E-Flexer class vessels, will renew and modernize Brittany Ferries' current fleet of cargo and passenger ships. The first ferry, the Galicia, was delivered in the autumn of 2020. The second will be delivered in November 2021 and the third in 2023,” Stena Roro said in a statement
Stena RoRo has executed a charter agreement with Marine Atlantic, a Canadian federal Crown corporation for ship number 10 of the E-Flewer class. It will run in eastern Canada between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Delivery from the shipyard is expected during 2024.
"Marine Atlantic is a former customer of ours," says Per Westling, managing director for Stena RoRo. "We delivered one ferry in 2000 and two more in 2010 to Marine Atlantic, all of which are still in service. We were successful in executing this new charter contract after a very competitive and extensive procurement process. We are extremely pleased to be able to continue to deliver high quality ships to this important customer”.
Large battery hybrid package, adaptable platform
The four most recently ordered ferries are equipped for LNG operation, entailing that they can run on LNG, biogas or other new fuels such as ammonia. In addition, the ships now ordered will also be equipped with a large battery hybrid package for energy consumption of 10 MWh for propulsion and maneuvering in port.
They will also be equipped with an 8 MW electric shore connection for charging the batteries which entails an environmentally friendly stay in port. The large battery capacity enables speeds up to 17.5 knots on battery power alone.
"The advanced and future-proof propulsion system developed for these vessels means that they can be operated with several different types of fuel," said Westling, adding: "This makes them well prepared for the new fuels not yet commercially available, but that will need to be developed and used in the future."
"Our focus is on adapting ship design to our customers' specific wishes and in this case, our E-Flexer platform is very well suited, as it meets the customer's requirements for an optimal hull form combined with efficient dual-fuel engines and a battery-hybrid solution to minimise emissions," he concluded.
