China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai has cut steel for the 12th and final E-Flexer RoPax vessel.
The LNG-powered ship is being built for Swedish Stena RoRo and it will be chartered by Brittany Ferries, a spokesperson for Brittany Ferries confirmed to Offshore Energy.
The ship spans 194.7 meters in length, a molded width of 27.8 meters and it can carry 1,300 passengers. It has a freight capacity of 3,600 lane meters, which means 15% more cargo than the current E-Flexers.
The ship will be up to 30% more energy efficient than existing vessels in the fleet, thanks to optimum design of the hulls, propellers, bulbs and rudders, according to Stena Line.
The vessel will be classed by DNV and it will be able to switch to shore power while in port to reduce emissions. The electricity connection also enables conversion to battery hybrid in the future. The ship is scheduled for delivery in January 2025.
The ninth vessel from the series was delivered in December 2022. The dual-fuel LNG-powered ferry has also been chartered by Brittany Ferries on a long-term basis.
Stena RoRo has an agreement with Brittany Ferries for long-term charters of five E-Flexers of a total of twelve vessels Stena has on order at the Chinese shipyard.
Brittany Ferries took delivery of the first vessel from the series, Galicia, in 2020. Its sister vessel Salamanca was delivered at the end of 2021 and it was the first ferry from the batch to be fuelled by LNG.
Brittany Ferries is set to take delivery of two more LNG-powered E-Flexer ferries in 2023-2025.
Stena Line will also operate five vessels from the series, while DFDS and Marine Atlantic will operate one E-Flexer each once all ships are delivered.
The E-Flexer program is a joint endeavor between Stena RoRo and Stena Line.
The name E-Flexer is chosen to reflect two of the main goals of the design – efficiency, and flexibility. The ships have been designed to be among the most fuel-efficient in the world for their size, while also being flexible enough to operate across different routes.
Moreover, they are delivered ready both for conversion to battery hybrid operation and for conversion to methanol or liquid natural gas (LNG) fuel at a later stage.