AVIC Weihai lays keel for first of new Stena RoPax ferries

FEBRUARY 5, 2018 — Stena Line has marked a milestone in the construction of a series of new RoPax ferries, set for deliveries in 2019 and 2020, that will be 50% bigger than today’s standard RoPax vessels

On Friday, February 2, the official keel-laying ceremony for the first of these vessels took place at the AVIC Weihai Shipyard in China, marking the start of the construction phase of the hull and the exterior parts of the vessel.

“This is an important milestone in our exciting new ship building project,” said Niclas Mårtensson, CEO Stena Line, who took part in the traditional ceremony in which four coins where placed under the keel-block as a symbol of good fortune.

“Our overall target is that these vessels will be the absolute state-of-the-art when it comes to energy efficiency, flexibility and customer service,” said Mårtensson. “In particular, we are placing heavy emphasis on developing a range of exciting new digital features which will provide our customers with unique additional services connected with their journey as well as developing a new, integrated digital onboard experience.

The new RoPax vessels will be deployed on the Irish SeaTechnical details of the new vessels:

Length: 214,5 m

Draft: 6,4 m

Breadth: 27,8 m

Car deck capacity: 3,100 lane meter + 120 cars

Passenger capacity: 1,000

Cabins: 175

Engines: 2 x V12 4-stroke diesel (2 x 12,600 kW)

Speed: 22 knots

Built: AVIC Weihai Shipyard, China