Stena Line’s STENA VINGA is to arrive on the Irish Sea within the next week it has been confirmed. According to the Stena Line Freight timetable, the Dutch-built ship will takeover from STENA HORIZON on the Rosslare – Cherbourg route from Monday September 28. STENA VINGA will operate in freight-only mode, with COVID-19 restrictions meaning that passenger demand on the route remains low.
After arrival she will release STENA HORIZON to take over from STENA NORDICA on the Holyhead-Dublin route. At present this is scheduled to be from the 20:30 sailing ex Holyhead on September 30 until the 14:50 ex Dublin on October 26. At present, STENA NORDICA is covering for STENA ESTRID which in-turn is covering at Belfast.
Originally named HAMMERODDE, STENA VINGA was built to a modified version of the same design as BEN-MY-CHREE and COMMODORE CLIPPER. However, she was built at IHC Merwede instead of Van Der Giessen-de noord. During 2010 she was fitted with an additional trailer deck in Helsinki. She normally sails between Gothenburg (Sweden) and Frederikshavn (Denmark).
Refit for Nordica
The arrival of STENA VINGA, which has never been to Ireland or France before, will allow STENA NORDICA to dry dock in Poland. ‘Nordica’ has been on loan to Stena Line UK & Ireland as a relief vessel since the start of 2019.
During her dry docking at Remontowa Gdansk, it is expected the ship will also undergo some refurbishment. Once her dry docking is complete, STENA NORDICA is expected to return to the Karlskrona – Gdynia route in place of STENA BALTICA from October 30. The latter ship is widely expected to return to owners Brittany Ferries in November.
Estrid to remain in Belfast
As previously published, STENA ESTRID is expected to remain in Belfast until at least October 13. The normally Holyhead-based ship is covering the dry docking of both STENA SUPERFAST VIII and sister STENA SUPERFAST VII at Harland & Wolff.
Once STENA ESTRID has finished covering at Belfast, she is expected to return to her normal Holyhead – Dublin route in place of usual running-mate STENA ADVENTURER. This will allow ‘Adventurer’ to dry dock in Belfast for attention to ongoing issues. It is understood specially fabricated parts will be fitted during this dry docking to resolve these issues.
