Stena Edda, the second E-Flexer ferry under construction for the Swedish ferry company Stena Line, has been floated out at the Avic Weihai Shipyard in China.
Stena Edda is scheduled to enter service on the Belfast-Liverpool route in spring 2020. The ferry is the second of three new E-Flexer units bound for the Irish Sea during 2020 and 2021.
The first one, Stena Estrid , was launched at the same yard in January this year.
At 215 meters, all three vessels being built for the Irish Sea will be larger than today’s standard RoPax units. They will provide freight capacity of 3,100 lane meters, as well as the space to carry 120 cars and 1,000 passengers and crew. According to the company, the new ships would would increase the Belfast – Liverpool capacity by almost 20 percent.
In addition to the three Irish Sea-bound ships, Stena Line has also ordered a further two E-Flexer RoPax vessels with a larger design, to be deployed within Stena Line’s network in 2022.
These larger ships will be 240 meters long with a total freight capacity of 3,600 lane meters and passenger capacity of 1,200.
Stena Line’s sister company Stena RoRo is managing all the E-Flexer building projects that are ongoing on Avic Weihai Shipyard.
Stena RoRo has already secured charter deals for its E-Flexers with Brittany Ferries and DFDS .