Galicia | Brittany Ferries

Overview of Galicia

GALICIA is a Brittany Ferries Ro-Pax ferry which was completed in China during 2020.  She is the first of three similar E-Flexer class ferries being built for Stena RoRo in China for charter to Brittany Ferries. Brittany Ferries intends to base her at Portsmouth to service the routes from there to Santander and Cherbourg.

The company has previously stated that she was ordered as a replacement for BAIE DE SEINE in the fleet. That ship was returned to owners DFDS earlier in 2020 and has re-adopted her previous name SIRENA SEAWAYS.

Entry to Service

GALICIA is expected to enter service for Brittany Ferries during December 2020. She will not be permanently allocated to the Santander and Cherbourg routes until Spring 2021, however. GALICIA is the first Brittany Ferries vessel to be themed around Spain according to the company. Stena’s favoured architect, Figura, was tasked with customising her interior design accordingly.

Although registered with a home port of Portsmouth when delivered, GALICIA switched to the French flag shortly after her arrival in Europe. This was done during a visit to Astander in Santander for a dry-docking which was required for her change of flag.

Some final touches were also applied ahead of her official “inauguration” presentation on 27 Nov 2020. This was Brittany Ferries first virtual ship launch and was as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Charter

GALICIA is the third ship in Stena’s E-Flexer class to be completed, following STENA ESTRID and STENA EDDA. Initially, Brittany Ferries will charter GALICIA for five years. The company has the option to extend the charter or purchase the ship outright after the initial charter period.

Differences with the Stena Line vessels

External appearance

Although similar in many aspects to her Stena Line part-sister ships, GALICIA has been customised specifically to Brittany Ferries requirements.  Notably the dedicated car deck on deck 7 on the Stena Line vessels has been replaced by additional passenger cabins.  The superstructure of the Brittany Ferries ship also extends further aft, again allowing additional passenger cabins to be added. This means that in total GALICIA has 1,233 passenger berths compared to 684 on STENA EDDA and STENA ESTRID.  

GALICIA‘s passenger capacity is slightly higher than the Stena Line ships with 1015 passengers able to be carried instead of 923.  Another external difference is the provision of an additional lifeboat on each side, in part due to the slightly higher passenger capacity.

Perhaps the most visually noticeable change apart from the revised superstructure aft, is the division of the panoramic windows overlooking the bow. This change was made as a result of operational experience with STENA ESTRID and STENA EDDA, and has also been made to STENA EMBLA. The latter was delivered to Stena Line during November 2020. It is expected that all subsequent E-Flexer’s will also be delivered with this revision.

Passenger facilities

For a more in depth look at GALICIA‘s passenger facilities, see our dedicated Galicia feature with deck plans here.

Unlike STENA EDDA and STENA ESTRID, GALICIA has no dedicated freight driver restaurant. The same space is used for the ‘Taberna de Tapas’ restaurant instead.  While the layout of the public spaces largely mirror those on the Stena ships, areas such as the ‘Sky Bar’ on the Stena ships have been rebranded (Plaza Mayor).  On Deck 7 the onboard shop has been extended aft and the ‘Barista’ coffee bar removed and replaced with a small lounge area and information screens.  

As with the Stena Line ships, Video on Demand is available throughout the vessel. GALICIA is the first vessel in the Brittany Ferries fleet to employ the technology.  A three course meal and continental breakfast is included in the fare on GALICIA‘s Spanish crossings, and so the layout of the main restaurant (named ‘Azul’) has been altered to account for this.

Some changes have also been made to the sun deck on deck 10, notably the addition of a terraced area. The outside decks to the aft of the ship are also larger as a result of the enlarged superstructure on the Brittany Ferries vessel.

Brittany Ferries other two E-Flexer ferries, SALAMANCA and SANTONA, are expected to have a similar layout and feel to GALICIA.

Other differences

Although all E-Flexer ferries are designed to be fitted with Exhaust Gas Scrubber technology, GALICIA is the first to be equipped with such a system. This has no major effect on her external appearance, however. The use of this closed-loop gas scrubber system means that Brittany Ferries are able to burn lower cost fuel oil on GALICIA while still complying with all emissions legislation.

To date, GALICIA is the only E-Flexer delivered with a scrubber system as Stena Line preferrs to burn more expensive low-sulphur fuel in order to meet emissions limits. Brittany Ferries has opted to equip its other two E-Flexer’s, SALAMANCA and SANTOÑA, with the capability to burn LNG as fuel instead of using diesel and scrubbers. The only other non-Stena Line E-Flexer at the time of writing, DFDS’s COTE D’OPALE, will also have scrubbers fitted from new.

In terms of machinery, GALICIA retains the same setup as STENA EDDA and STENA ESTRID apart from the addition of scrubbers.

GALICIA will be the only Brittany Ferries E-Flexer to retain the full 3,100lm freight capacity of the Stena Line E-Flexer ships. This is because SALAMANCA and SANTOÑA will have LNG equipment fitted on their lower freight deck.

Passenger vehicles will park on the same decks as freight as there is no dedicated car deck on Deck 7 as on the Stena Line E-Flexer’s.

While the tilting ramp to deck 7 has not been fitted to GALICIA due to there being no dedicated car deck, the tilting ramps between the other vehicle decks remain. This means that (should it be required) the ship will be able to load on a single level rather than simultaneously over two levels. GALICIA also retains the capability to simultaneously load over two levels through both the bow and stern as with the Stena Line ships.

Other changes have been made to the construction process as a result of experience in building STENA ESTRID and STENA EDDA as part of a continual effort to improve efficiency and quality at the shipyard. The design and construction changes have in part led to Falk Rothe of DNV-GL (the ships certification society) claiming that GALICIA is “is the highest quality ship in this series so far” at the official delivery ceremony.

Passenger Facilities on Galicia

Brittany Ferries advertises the following passenger facilities as being available on GALICIA;

• Commodore C-Club lounge (premium lounge area)
• Reserved seating lounge (premium applicable)
• Restaurant Azul (Restaurant)
• Taberna de Tapas (Restaurant)
• Plaza Mayor (Bar)
• Boutique (Onboard Shop)
• Two Children’s play areas
• Travel & Sea exhibition area
• House of Las Meninas digital experience
• Information kiosks
• Sun deck with terrace (Deck 10) and outside deck areas (Decks 7, 8, 9)
• Video on Demand and WiFi throughout the ship
• A selection of cabin accommodation including premium cabins, 22 pet friendly cabins, suites, and wheelchair accessible cabins
• Enclosed dog kennels for small and large dogs, plus an outside exercise area on Deck 7.

Galicia Technical Data

Galicia Timeline / Key Dates

With special thanks to the Brittany Ferries Press Team for their help with this feature.

1. Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 19 November 2020].[↩]
2. Vesselregister.dnvgl.com. 2020. DNV GL Vessel Register. [online] Available at: <https://vesselregister.dnvgl.com/vesselregister/vesselregister.html> [Accessed 19 November 2020].[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]