StenaRoRo takes delivery of Guillaume de Normandie, its newest E-Flexer

Photo: StenaRoRo

Stena RoRo has taken delivery of the Guillaume de Normandie. On long term charter to France’s Brittany Ferries, it is the 12th in a series of 15 E-Flexer vessels ordered at Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling (Weihai), and the fifth ordered for charter to Brittany Ferries. In April 2025, it will enter service on the Portsmouth – Caen route, replacing the Normandie, which has sailed the route since 1992. This is the fifth of five E-Flexer vessels ordered for the Brittany Ferries fleet.

As with the four E-Flexer ships that Stena RoRo has already delivered to Brittany Ferries, the vessel will be powered by multi-fuel engines — as well as the market’s thus-far largest battery pack of 12 MWh. With these batteries, the ship will be able to operate in and out of port solely on battery power and also maneuver when docking and undocking without using the ship’s diesel engines.

This is technical solution provides significantly lower CO2 emissions.

The Guillaume de Normandie is also equipped with an 8 MW shore connection for high-speed charging of the batteries and also enabling a completely fossil-free stay when in port. With the installed battery capacity, the vessel can operate at speeds of up to 17.5 knots on batteries alone.

The ship’s engines can be operated on marine diesel (MGO), liquefied natural gas (LNG), biodiesel or biogas. In addition, the PTI/PTO system with the battery power function can be used for propulsion at sea or maneuvering in port. The system is scalable, which means that in the future, the Guillaume de Normandie can operate entirely on batteries or with a combination of the different fuels.

The ship’s, designed by Figura Arkitekter AB, has been especially created for the current route and with clear influences from Normandy.

The ship is certified to carry 1,300 passengers and offers 2,410 lane meters for cargo, with 176 lane meters designated for personal cars.

The E-Flexer series is based on a basic concept with vessels larger than most existing RoPax ferries and features a highly flexible design. Each ship is tailored to customers’ needs, both commercially and technically. An optimized design of the hull, propellers and rudders along with opportunities to incorporate new environmentally friendly technology contribute to the E-Flexer vessels being at the absoluteforefront in terms of sustainability and performance as well as cost and energy efficiency.

“It is with great satisfaction and pride that we have now taken delivery of the twelfth E-Flexer vessel in the series,” says Stena RoRo AB managing director Per Westling. “Within the framework of the E-Flexer concept, there has been continuous technical development and we can offer our customers flexible and future-proof propulsion systems that by a wide margin meet both today’s and future environmental requirements. The large battery hybrid system we installed on the Guillaume de Normandie means that the ship can operate optimally, in step with regulatory developments, or in accordance with the operator’s own policies.”

The Guillaume de Normandie is chartered to Brittany Ferries for 10 years.

The total of five E-Flexer ships ordered by Brittany Ferries are renewing and modernizing the company’s current fleet of cargo and passenger ships. The first ferry, the Galicia, was delivered in the autumn of 2020, the second in November 2021, the third in December 2023. The fourth, Saint-Malo, was delivered in October 2024, and the Guillaume de Normandie in December 2024.

Guillaume de Normandie specifications

Length: 194.7 meters
Draft: 6.5 meters
Beam: 27.8 meters
Capacity: 1,300 passengers and 2,410 lane meters, of which 176 lane meters are intended for automobiles
Passenger cabins: 222 distributed over four decks
Speed: 23 knots (17.5 on batteries only