The information below is outdated and is based on STENA NORDICA prior to her 2023 rebuild ahead of her permanent move to the Fishguard – Rosslare route. This page is retained here for information purposes. For more details on the rebuilt ship, see her new page here.
Stena Nordica Fast Facts
Current Name: Stena Nordica | Previous Names: MALO SEAWAYS, EUROPEAN AMBASSADOR |
Shipyard: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Shimonoseki [JP] , #1068 | IMO Number: 9215505 |
Current Operator: Stena Line | Current Route: Karlskrona [SE] - Gdynia [PL] |
Length Overall: 169.8, | Beam: 25.82m |
Passenger Capacity: 447 (but limited to between 380 and 410 in service) | Vehicle Capacity: 375 cars OR 1949 lane metres of freight, or a combination of both |
Tonnage: 24,206 | Sister-ships: EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY (part-sister), EUROPEAN HIGHLANDER (part-sister). |
Overview of Stena Nordica
The Stena Line Ro-Pax Ferry STENA NORDICA is a part-sister to P&O Ferries’ Japanese built Larne to Cairnryan ships EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY and EUROPEAN HIGHLANDER. She was built as the EUROPEAN AMBASSADOR for P&O’s Dublin-Liverpool and (now closed) Dublin-Mostyn routes, and is an enlarged version of EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY with passenger cabins, whereas the Larne vessel has none.
EUROPEAN AMBASSADOR became a Stena ship in a transaction related to, but not part of, the Stena acquisition of P&O Irish Sea’s Fleetwood-Larne operation in 2004. The ship was deemed surplus to requirements at P&O following the closure of the Dublin – Mostyn route.
P&O had previously been prevented from selling both the Liverpool and Mostyn to Dublin routes to Stena by the UK competition authorities. EUROPEAN AMBASSADOR had also previously been used on P&O’s Rosslare to Cherbourg route. This route had closed in December 2004 but was restarted by Celtic Link ferries early the following year. EUROPEAN AMBASSADOR would later return to that route as STENA NORDICA in a relief capacity after Stena Line took over Celtic Link in early 2014.
Stena Line originally deployed STENA NORDICA to the Baltic (Karlskrona – Gdynia route), and she received an extensive Stena refit which included modifications to improve loading and unloading before being transferred to the Swedish flag. She returned to Dublin in 2008 to run opposite STENA ADVENTURER to Holyhead in place of the STENA SEATRADER, following a successful stint earlier in the year as refit relief vessel on the route.
The following March she received a further €2.2M refit to bring her into line with the rest of Stena Line’s Irish Sea fleet including new passenger lounges and bar, a new Stena Plus lounge, a Food City restaurant, a new freight drivers area and refurbished seating and flooring.
Over the years STENA NORDICA has proved herself a very versatile ship, having operated to Liverpool, Mostyn, Cherbourg and Holyhead from Dublin, between Belfast and Cairnryan and Rosslare to Fishguard as a relief vessel for Stena, and also between Karlskrona and Gdynia as mentioned above. In addition she also served the Dover -Calais route for DFDS as MALO SEAWAYS and operated in the Mediterranean for GNV.
STENA NORDICA provided refit cover on the Belfast – Cairnryan (Loch Ryan Port) route in 2013, thus competing with her part-sister ships operating for P&O. Like Stena’s other Irish Sea ships, Stena Nordica has also been a visitor to Harland and Wolff for refits. It had been widely expected that STENA NORDICA would return to Belfast to provide cover for STENA SUPERFAST VII and STENA SUPERFAST VIII in March 2015 whilst they were dry docked.
DFDS and Dover – Calais
During January 2015 DFDS announced that they had agreed to charter Stena Nordica from Stena RoRo for a period of 18 months to operate their Dover-Calais service as MALO SEAWAYS, filling the role previously undertaken by DIEPPE SEAWAYS (now STENA SUPERFAST X) before she left DFDS for conversion to replace Stena Nordica at Dublin.
Following DFDS’s acquisition of the former RODIN and BERLIOZ on charter from Groupe Eurotunnel, MALO SEAWAYS became surplus to requirements, and her charter was terminated early following rumoured technical problems. It was not clear where STENA NORDICA would next operate at this stage, however a charter to the Mediterranean had been touted in the Italian shipping press.
GNV and a return to the Baltic
After the conclusion of her DFDS charter, MALO SEAWAYS was again renamed STENA NORDICA and was chartered to Mediterranean operator GNV for summer 2016. When that charter finished, STENA NORDICA returned to Stena Line to operate the Travemünde – Liepaja Baltic sea service between Germany and Latvia opposite veteran ferry URD. However, STENA NORDICA made a brief return to British and Irish waters in early 2017 as the designated refit relief ship until April 2017.
Irish Sea Refit Cover 2017
Stena Nordica provided cover for six Ro-Pax vessels in total, including releasing STENA HORIZON from the Rosslare – Cherbourg route so she could herself release near-sisters STENA LAGAN and STENA MERSEY for their dry docking’s, and the ship which replaced her on the Dublin – Holyhead route STENA SUPERFAST X. After again relieving STENA SUPERFAST VIII and STENA SUPERFAST VII she then returned back to her new ‘home’ route in the Baltic.
Back to The Baltic
On October 5th 2018 STENA NORDICA was reflagged from the UK (London) to the Bahamas (Nassau) in preparation for a return to the Karlskrona – Gdynia route as an additional ship. It is common for vessels with Polish crews to be flagged in the Bahamas or similar rather than Poland. This is a practice which even takes place on Polish state owned vessels.
During December 2018 NI Ferry Site revealed that STENA NORDICA would again be returning to the Irish Sea as the designated refit relief vessel, arriving initially to release STENA HORIZON to cover STENA LAGAN and STENA MERSEY on the Belfast – Liverpool (Birkenhead) route in the same way as she did in 2017. With STENA SUPERFAST X, STENA SUPERFAST VII, STENA SUPERFAST VIII, and STENA EUROPE all expected to dry-dock in early 2019 it is likely that STENA NORDICA will cover all of these vessels as well given how she proved herself in 2017.
STENA NORDICA arrived in Belfast on the morning of 10.02.19 ahead of taking up service in place of STENA SUPERFAST VII the following morning with the 11:30 sailing ex Belfast.
2022 Irish Sea Return
During 2022, STENA NORDICA will return to the Irish Sea to act as a relief vessel. STENA NORDICA has been strongly rumoured to have been earmarked as a permanent replacement for STENA EUROPE on the Fishguard to Rosslare route following the 2022 summer season.
However, Stena Line has not commented on this and only confirmed that she will return to the Baltic in Spring after her refit relief duties are finished. It is expected that should the replacement plan be confirmed that STENA NORDICA would go for partial rebuilding before her introduction on the Southern Corridor service. This would be in part to address her small passenger capacity compared to many Irish Sea ferries.
During March 2022, STENA NORDICA was redeployed to the Belfast – Cairnryan route at short notice as a third ship. This was in response to increased demand on the route as a result of P&O Ferries sacking nearly 800 crew members and suspending its services. Once P&O Ferries crossings normalised again, STENA NORDICA returned to The Baltic.
2023 – On the move again
With the arrival of STENA ESTELLE and STENA EBBA, STENA NORDICA was displaced from the Karskrona – Gdynia route. During December 2022, STENA NORDICA‘s flag was changed from The Bahamas to Cyprus.
STENA NORDICA arrived in Gdansk for dry-docking just after noon on New Years Day 2023. After an additional block of passenger accommodation is added and the ship thoroughly refurbished, STENA NORDICA will replace STENA EUROPE on the Fishguard – Rosslare route during July 2023. STENA NORDICA is also expected to provide overhaul cover on Stena’s Irish Sea network and the Killingholme – Hoek van Holland route ahead of her permanent move to the Fishguard service.
Stena Nordica Technical Data
The following is a summary of the key technical data of STENA NORDICA prior to 2023.
Technical Data | STENA NORDICA |
IMO Number | 9215505 |
Concept Design | Knud E Hansen A/S |
Technical consultant | Three Quays Marine Services, London, England (now BCTQ) |
Building yard | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Shimonoseki, Japan |
Hull number | 1068 |
Keel Laid | 17 Apr 2000 |
Completed | 12 Dec 2000 |
In service | 08.01.01 (P&O Irish Sea) 11.06.04 (Stena Line) |
Call sign | C6RG8 / 2BXO2 / C6EB2 (current) |
Classification | Lloyds Register of Shipping + LMC, UMS +100A1 Roll On-Roll Off Passenger Ferry |
Current Owner | Stena Line |
Length overall (Between Perpendiculars) | 169.8m (161.6m) |
Beam | 25.82m |
Draft | 6.02m (max) |
Gross Tonnage | 24,206 |
Machinery | Main Engines : 2 x Wartsila 12V38 (wings) & 2 x Wartsila 18V38 (centre). Engine power is geared in pairs to twin 4-bladed controllable pitch propellers Auxiliary Engines: 2 x Daihatsu 6DK-28 (1,900kW each @750 rpm)
|
Power(Max/Pme @ 75%) | 39680kW/29700kW |
Operational speed | 25.7 Knots (using all 4 main engines) |
Capacity | 447 passengers (max – this has been limited to between 380 and 410 passengers in service depending on the route and operator. 1949 lane metres of freight – 122 trailers, 375 cars, or a combination of both. |
Crew | 45 |
Current Flag | Cyprus (Limassol) |
Previous Operators | GNV DFDS Seaways France Stena Line P&O Irish Sea |
Part sister-ships | EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY EUROPEAN HIGHLANDER |
A Look Inside (Interior Gallery) 2017
Although these photographs were taken during 2017, the layout and interior decor of STENA NORDICA remains largely unchanged in 2019.
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Stena Nordica Gallery
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Further Reading
Stena Nordica on “The Ferry Site” – http://www.ferry-site.dk/ferry.php?id=9215505&lang=en
Original Article: 26.03.14
23.12.18 (moved to Gutenberg blocks, added gallery, updated information including flag and call-sign change, tidied up text)
Last major Update:10.02.19 (moved to multi-page format and updated info)