Overview of Stena Hibernia & Stena Scotia
STENA HIBERNIA and STENA SCOTIA are two of four ro-ro freighters constructed in the Far East for Norfolk Line to operate services to Scheveningen (Holland) from Felixstowe. STENA HIBERNIA and STENA SCOTIA are direct sisters, while Blue Star Ferries’ BLUE CARRIER 1 (previously DFDS’s ANGLIA SEAWAYS) and FLANDRIA SEAWAYS (as of 2015 SAN JORGE and operating in Mexico) are near-sisters.
While STENA HIBERNIA and STENA SCOTIA were built in Japan by the Miho Zosen, ANGLIA SEAWAYS and FLANDRIA SEAWAYS were built by Guangzhou Wenchong in China almost 4 years later which means they differ slightly – the most notable difference being more powerful engines in the newer pair.
STENA HIBERNIA and STENA SCOTIA first appeared on the Belfast to Heysham route during March 2009 for then operator Norfolk Line. The vessels transferred to DFDS along with their route when that company absorbed Norfolk Line, and then transferred to Stena when DFDS sold the former Norfolk Line Irish Sea business to Stena in 2010/11.
From November 2013 STENA HIBERNIA operated during the week between Belfast and Birkenhead in order to provide additional capacity on the route for unaccompanied freight providing 5 return sailings per week. She also provided support on the Belfast – Cairnryan route during 2014 when STENA SUPERFAST VII was undergoing maintenance, and returned to her former Belfast – Heysham route to provide cover whilst for STENA PERFORMER while she went to Harland and Wolff in November ’14. STENA HIBERNIA has now returned to the Heysham route so that Stena can increase capacity on the Birkenhead link using the larger STENA PRECISION in her place.
STENA SCOTIA operated on Stena Line’s Rotterdam – Killingholme freight route until the end of July 2018. Following the news that STENA PERFORMER and STENA PRECISION were returning to Seatruck after summer 2018 she was widely expected to return to the Belfast – Heysham service to operate opposite her sister. This was due to the restricted maximum size of vessels able to operate into Heysham and lack of other suitable tonnage in the Stena fleet or on the market. STENA SCOTIA’s return to Belfast was confirmed on the 28th July 2018 after the Stena Line Freight timetable was updated.
STENA SCOTIA now differs in side-profile from her sister following the installation of a modular AEC closed loop exhaust scrubber system by Damen in 2017, which has resulted in her having an extension added to her funnel. This is believed to be the first modular installation of a scrubber system of its type. STENA SCOTIA left Hoek van Holland on August 1st 2018 with a destination of Belfast. After her arrival she will release sister-ship STENA HIBERNIA for dry docking at Harland & Wolff.
Near-sister ANGLIA SEAWAYS has been chartered to Seatruck on two occasions, firstly for the Dublin to Heysham service in February 2011 for 11 months, then for the Belfast and Warrenpoint to Heysham services from May 2012 until mid-2014.
During 2023 it was announced that Stena Line had ordered two new purpose-built vessels to replace STENA SCOTIA and STENA HIBERNIA on the Belfast to Heysham route. The new ships will be both larger and more efficient than the current vessels.
Technical Data
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STENA HIBERNIA |
STENA SCOTIA |
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IMO Number |
9121637 |
9121625 |
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Design |
? |
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Building Yard |
Miho Zosensho, Shimizu, Shizuoka, Japan |
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Hull Number |
1460 |
1459 |
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Launched |
01/07/1996 |
16/02/1996 |
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Completed |
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06/06/1996 |
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Current Owner |
Stena Ropax Ltd |
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Current Operator |
Stena Line UK |
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Classification |
Lloyds Register of Shipping, LR – 100 A1 Roll on Roll off Cargo Ship |
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In service (original) |
11/1996 |
07/1996 |
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Call sign |
2HBG6 |
PFSN |
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Length overall |
142.5m |
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Beam |
23.2m |
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Draft |
5.4m |
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Gross Tonnage |
13,017 |
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Machinery |
2 x (Hitachi-Zosen built) Sulzer 8 ZAV40S 8-cylinder diesel main engines – 4,500 kW each 3 x Sulzer 6S20 auxiliary engines – 700 kW each 2x 4m diameter Lips propellers 2x Lips 850kW bow thrusters (STENA SCOTIA also has an AEC/Damen modular closed-loop exhaust scrubber system installed) |
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Power(Max/Pme @ 75%) |
9,000/6,750kW |
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Speed (Max/Operational) |
18/16-18 kts |
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Capacity |
1562 lane metres of freight (approx 120 trailers) Upper deck: 637 lm – 4.75 metres free height Main deck: 601 lm – 4.75 metres free height Tanktop: 324 lm – 4.75 metres free height Can accommodate 12 freight drivers |
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Cargo Access |
Stern door with internal ramps from main deck to top deck and main deck to tank top. |
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Flag |
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Previous Names |
HIBERNIA SEAWAYS (Stena Line / DFDS) MAERSK IMPORTER (DFDS / Norfolk Line) |
SCOTIA SEAWAYS (Stena Line / DFDS) MAERSK EXPORTER (DFDS / Norfolk Line) |
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Table last updated: 12.09.18
Photographs
For interior photographs please visit the ‘A Look Inside’ feature on STENA HIBERNIA here and STENA SCOTIA here.
This article is Copyright © Steven Tarbox. All images are Copyright © their acknowledged Copyright holders, and used with permission. With special thanks to Scott Mackey, Rob de Visser, and Alan Geddes.
Article created: 26/02/14
Last updated: 12.09.18
