‘Stena Embla’ left her builders yard in China on Tuesday
The final of three new Irish Sea vessels being introduced to Irish Sea routes by Stena Line left China on Tuesday. STENA EMBLA, departed the Chinese port of Weihai at 10:52 (UTC +8) local time on December 2. The brand-new ferry is expected to reach her first stop at Singapore on December 7.
The ship, which is under the command of Senior Master Captain Neil Whittaker, will follow a similar route to the Irish Sea as sister-ships STENA ESTRID and STENA EDDA. Captain Whittaker was also responsible for bringing STENA EDDA “home”.
STENA EMBLA is expected to be introduced on the Belfast – Liverpool (Birkenhead) route early in the new year. From a passenger perspective she is understood to be virtually identical as STENA ESTRID and STENA EDDA which have both been in service on the Irish Sea since early this year.
According to Stena Line, the arrival of STENA EMBLA marks the end of a 7-year development programme totalling a £400m investment in new ferries and port infrastructure on Irish Sea routes. Sister-company Stena RoRo has ordered a total of nine Stena E-Flexer ferries to-date from the same shipyard, CMI Jinling Weihai. This includes the Irish Sea trio.