Harland and Wolff (H&W)
PR (Stena): Stena Line confirms £7m fleet refit contract with Harland & Wolff
Stena Line has confirmed that Harland & Wolff’s Belfast shipyard will be carrying out the bulk of its Irish Sea annual ferry fleet refit and maintenance programme in a £7m contract. Each year Stena Line carries out a series of passenger facility upgrade works as well as a number of scheduled maintenance and engine works to ensure its fleet of 11 ferries on the Irish Sea are running to optimum efficiency. The Harland & Wolff refit schedule for 9 of the Irish Sea fleet will start at the end of December and will run through until early May 2017 to ensure that Stena Line’s sailing schedules are not unduly impacted. Paul Grant, Stena Line’s Route Manager (Irish Sea North) commented: “The marine refit sector is a highly competitive market and I’m delighted to confirm that Stena Line has appointed Harland & Wolff to carry out this important operational project. Stena ... Read more
Former Stena Galloway to re-enter service?
Le Rif arrives at Malaga for dry docking Recent reports that Le Rif (ex Stena Galloway, Galloway Princess) had been sold for scrap appear to have been untrue, as the former North Channel favourite arrived in Malaga on Saturday for a dry docking. The ship (including 4 crew and a Captain appointed for the trip) was towed from Tangier in Morocco where she had been abandoned in 2013, though she had been moved to a different berth in the port since then. Initially the Harland and Wolff built ship will undergo an assessment of her condition taking around 10 days and involving 14 people. A budget of around €2.5m has been set aside for the overhaul and refurbishment, which will involve significant technical work and is expected to take around 2 months. The work will be undertaken at Cernaval’s Mario Lopez shipyard in Malaga. Le Rif had been laid up following a major technical ... Read more
PR: Stena Superfast VIII keeps Irish Sea refits on schedule.
Stena Superfast VIII keeps Irish Sea refits on schedule. This week it’s the turn of Stena Superfast VIII to visit dry dock at Harland & Wolff in Belfast and so far the programme is well on schedule which should see the vessel return to her duties on Monday 15th Feb, Superfast V11 will then head to Dry Dock for a short visit and Superfast X will continue to run on the Belfast – Cairnryan route. During the refit all the relevant statutory surveys will be carried out commensurate with the vessel’s 15 years of service. The dry dock time is also being utilised to complete maintenance and checks on all areas that remain underwater during normal service such as rudders, stabilisers, bow and stern thrusters. A full paint system will be applied to both the underwater area as well as the upper outer accommodation areas before which all areas will be ... Read more
PR: Stena Horizon refitted at Harland and Wolff.
The Stena Horizon is currently taking a break from her Rosslare-Cherbourg duties to undergo a refit programme at Belfast’s Harland and Wolff shipyard which will last the vessel for 36 months. The vessel will be in dry dock for a total of fourteen days and during that time a number of key maintenance and upgrade works will be carried out including two propulsion shafts being removed and machine liners fitted with new seals; both bow thrusters overhauled and both rudders removed and fitted with new seals as well as both stabilisers being overhauled. While the Stena Horizon is in dry dock the opportunity will also be taken to repaint the entire hull including a full antifouling system to ensure future fuel efficiency; stern door line bore all hinges and install new pins; lifeboat hooks replaced to new standard; a 10 yearly overhaul of CO2 system as well as a 10 ... Read more
Stena Horizon return to service delayed.
Stena Horizon‘s refit period at Belfast’s Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries appears to have been extended by at least 2 days. Originally the 186m long vessel (which is a near sister of Stena Lagan and Stena Mersey) had been expected to leave Belfast on Wednesday morning. However, according to the current scheduled departure showing on Belfast Harbour’s website she is now due to leave on Friday morning instead. Stena Horizon of course is due to release Stena Superfast X from the Dublin to Holyhead route so she can come north to in turn release Stena Superfast VIII and Stena Superfast VII from the Belfast to Cairnryan service for their own refits at H&W. As a result of the delay in completing Stena Horizon‘s refit, NIFS expect that the refit of Stena Superfast VIII may also be slightly delayed. Title image: Stena Horizon in dry-dock at Belfast, January 2016. Copyright © Scott ... Read more
The ‘other’ Stena Superfast: Stena Superfast X, coming soon to Belfast (for a while).
Stena Superfast X to operate to Cairnryan next month. Next month will see the maiden arrival in Belfast of the latest permanent addition to the Stena Line Irish Sea fleet, Stena Superfast X. Stena Superfast X was of course built as a sister ship to our own Stena Superfast VII and VIII, although she has had a very different career. Normally Stena Superfast X would operate between Dublin and Holyhead, however she will operate from Belfast for around 2 weeks whilst covering the dry-docking periods of Stena Superfast VII and VIII at Harland and Wolff. The Belfast yard has of course secured a £4m contact to refit the bulk of Stena Line’s Irish Sea fleet this year. Stena Superfast X will offer a different passenger experience to the regular vessels however, as she has been laid out differently internally, reflecting the different nature of her regular crossing. Of particular note is the retention ... Read more
PR: Harland and Wolff Secures £4m Stena Line Contract
Stena Line has continued its tradition of supporting the local maritime industry by placing a £4.4m contract with Harland and Wolff for the refit of its Irish Sea ferry fleet. Over the next two months, seven Stena Line vessels will visit the shipyard on a carefully sequenced timetable to facilitate a range of specialist works including annual inspections, passenger facility upgrade work as well as ongoing technical enhancements. Stena Line recently celebrated 20 years of its operations in Belfast. In 2015, Stena Line transported 1.4 million passengers, 318 000 cars and almost 500 000 freight units on its Belfast services to Cairnryan, Liverpool and Heysham, employing 900 staff. Paul Grant, Stena Line’s Route Manager said: ”Our refits are very important to ensure the smooth and safe running of our expanding fleet of ships. The decision to place the majority of our refit contract work with Harland and Wolff allows us ... Read more
Stena Line Irish Sea refit schedule for 2016
Majority of Stena Line Irish Sea fleet to visit Harland and Wolff in early 2016. As previously speculated, Stena Flavia will be the designated refit cover vessel for Stena Line’s Irish Sea refits in 2016. Stena Flavia will leave the Baltic on 09/1/16 for Rosslare to take up service to Cherbourg from 14/1/16 until 8/3/16 in place of Stena Horizon. Gothenburg to Frederikshavn vessel Stena Gothica is believed to be planned to cover for Stena Flavia in her absence. The former Celtic Link vessel Stena Horizon will visit Harland and Wolff from 14/1/16 to 28/1/16, after which she will cover the Dublin to Holyhead route until approximately 7/3/16. On Stena Horizon‘s arrival at Dublin, Stena Superfast X will have an in water survey from 28/1/16 until 30/1/16. She will then leave for Belfast to cover the refits of Stena Superfast VIII and VII, returning to Holyhead on 16/2/16 and onto Stena ... Read more
Stena in Belfast – Celebrating 20 years of Stena Line operating from Belfast.
20th anniversary of Stena Line switching the historic Larne – Stranraer service to Belfast. Today marks 20 years from the last sailing of what was then Stena Sealink Line, into the Port of Larne from Scotland, with tomorrow the anniversary of the first Stena ferry sailing from Belfast. Few could have predicted at the time that 20 years, and 2 bespoke Belfast-Scotland terminals later, Stena Line would also offer services from Belfast to Birkenhead and Heysham, as well as operating a pair of 203 metre long ferries to Scotland from Belfast. Just six weeks after the switch, on the 31st December 1995, the “Sealink” name would disappear altogether with all UK operations being rebranded as “Stena Line”. Of course, things have also changed dramatically at Larne. No longer Northern Ireland’s premier ferry port, Stena’s rise at Belfast has been somewhat mirrored by P&O’s decline at Larne. The services to Fleetwood and ... Read more