Friday past, 5 May, marks ten years since STENA VOYAGER was towed out of Belfast Harbour for the final time on a quiet Sunday morning.
November 2011 saw the closure of the port of Stranraer, following Stena Line’s relocation to a new purpose-built deep-water facility at Loch Ryan Port. The existing ships on the route, including HSS STENA VOYAGER, were replaced by two large identical faster conventional ships, STENA SUPERFAST VII and STENA SUPERFAST VIII.
After eighteen months lying idle at the Port of Belfast, and with no buyer in sight, STENA VOYAGER left Belfast, destination Landskrona in Sweden and a Stena Metall recycling plant. Just under seventeen years since her debut on the key North Channel link between Belfast and Scotland, this revolutionary vessel had succumbed to soaring fuel prices and a global economic downturn.
Step into fast ferries
Stena Line first entered the fast ferry fray in 1993 with the introduction of STENA SEA LYNX between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire. STENA SEA LYNX was moved to the Fishguard to Rosslare route in 1994. She was replaced at Holyhead by the larger STENA SEA LYNX II.
In 1996-97, the UK ferry industry was transformed by the introduction of three Stena HSS (High-speed Sea Service) catamarans. The craft were iconic in every way, representing the maritime equivalent of the development from turbo prop to jet airliners. Much of their technology was drawn from the world of aviation.
The STENA EXPLORER, STENA VOYAGER and STENA DISCOVERY were set to revolutionise ferry travel.
The HSS concept saw the development of several size variations, two of which were finally introduced;
- HSS 1500 series – 1500 passengers, 375 cars or 50 trucks plus 100 cars.
- HSS 900 series – 900 passengers, 210 cars and 10 buses.
Covering the network
They would be capable of service speeds in excess of 40 knots, twice as fast as a conventional ferry. In the event, three 1500 series and one 900 series HSS entered service. They covered key Stena Line routes across the Irish Sea, North Sea, and Kattegat. The large versions were constructed at Finnyards in Rauma, Finland while the smaller version was delivered from Westamarin, Norway.
The first craft, STENA EXPLORER, was delivered for the Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire route in April 1996. The second, STENA VOYAGER, arrived in Belfast and began service in July 1996. The third HSS 1500, STENA DISCOVERY, began operating between Harwich and Hoek van Holland in spring 1997. Finally, the sole HSS 900, STENA CARISMA, commenced service between Goteborg and Frederikshavn in time for the summer 1997 season.
The North Channel
The UK domestic service between Larne and Stranraer was long considered one of Sealink/Stena Line’s most profitable services. The Northern Irish terminal had switched to Belfast in November 1995. Arriving at Belfast in early July 1996, STENA VOYAGER promised a completely new experience for passengers on the important link between Northern Ireland and Scotland. This was undoubtedly the most exciting ferry development on the North Channel ferry services for years. The HSS capitalised on the thirst for faster crossings with an ability to ship huge numbers of passengers, cars, and lorries.
STENA VOYAGER quickly became a firm favourite with the travelling public and replaced the STENA ANTRIM. The STENA GALLOWAY and STENA CALEDONIA remained as freight back up and to provide additional passenger capacity. In 2002, the STENA GALLOWAY was withdrawn as the HSS was working so well that only the STENA CALEDONIA as back-up was required. The HSS demonstrated huge potential in her early weeks and months of service.
This potential was, however, never to be fully realised as speed restrictions were imposed in Loch Ryan and Belfast Lough due to the wake created by the vessel. Despite this, Stena Line very successfully employed the ‘VOYAGER’ as the main ship on the route whereas, until now, fast ferries had only been employed as back-up or on a seasonal basis.
Rising fuel prices
Despite being a general success, the HSS was struggling as a result of unprecedented and continuous increases in oil prices of up to 600%. The craft’s huge thirst meant her long-term viability was in question.
Between 1996 and 2006, the ‘VOYAGER’s’ five return daily sailings with a crossing time of 105 minutes. From 2007 this was reduced to four daily return sailings. In 2008, the Belfast terminal was moved downstream from the city centre location to a new £37 million complex at Victoria Terminal 4. This meant the crossing distance was considerably less and, while the sailing times for the conventional ferry were reduced, those of the HSS were not and the craft was slowed down.
In 2009, the STENA CALEDONIA benefitted from a major accommodation rebuild and was returned to full passenger service. The company also purchased a conventional ship, to become the STENA NAVIGATOR which allowed the HSS to drop her sailings to just two daily round trips with a further reduction in speed, increasing the crossing time to 2 hours 20 minutes.
The final days
These measures were only short-term solutions which would see the North Channel route through until major changes were to take place in 2011. It had been announced that the service would move to a purpose-built state of the art terminal constructed some eight miles north of Stranraer at Old House Point, Cairnryan and that all three ships would be replaced with two identical sister vessels, from the well-known superfast class – STENA SUPERFAST VII and STENA SUPERFAST VIII.
On Sunday 20 November 2011, after 17 million passengers and more than 45,000 trips across the North Channel, the time had come for HSS STENA VOYAGER to finish her fifteen-year career on the Belfast-Stranraer route. The vessel remained laid up at her Belfast berth for almost 18 months until she left for the final time on Sunday 5 May 2013 for recycling by Stena Metall at one of their plants in Scandinavia.
