Stena Line has held a christening ceremony for its fifth E-Flexer vessel Stena Ebba, marking the launch of its second E-Flexer ferry on the Karlskrona-Gdynia route.
Stena Ebba was named by her godmother Ulrica Messing, the governor of the Blekinge region in Sweden, who traditionally smashed a bottle of champagne against the ship.
The event follows the introduction of the sister vessel Stene Estelle in September 2022 on the route between Sweden and Poland.
“The addition of our new modern Stena Ebba ferry in the South Baltic Sea is Stena Line’s response to customer demand in a dynamic economic area that continues to grow”, says Niclas Mårtensson , CEO Stena Line.
“We have operated this ferry route for more than 25 years and with our new E-Flexer ferries we will enable our partners to expand their business through an enhanced access to European markets and supply chains”.
Stena Ebba is one of the largest ferries in regular operations in the Baltic Sea. It is 240 metres long, offers space for 1,200 people and can accommodate up to 200 trucks. With its 3,600 lane metres, capacity has increased with no less than a 60 per cent boost versus the previous vessel on the route. The vessel was built by China Merchant Jinling (Weihai) shipyard, China, and delivered in September 2022.
The ferry’s energy efficiency derives from an optimised design and ability to use shore power during port calls, thus cutting exhaust emissions. The electricity connection also enables conversion to battery hybrid in the future.
Stena Ebba and Stena Estelle have optimised design of hulls, propellers, and rudders for maximum efficiency. All five E-Flexer vessels are gas-ready to allow conversion to methanol or LNG fuel.
Over the past year, Stena Line transferred to the new ferry terminal in Gdynia, which allows berthing of 240 m vessels and offers the possibility of developing an intermodal solution, thanks to its proximity to railway tracks.