CÔTE D’OPALE (Stena E-Flexer #5 AVIC #W0268)

1. CÔTE D’OPALE is a DFDS operated Ro-Pax ferry which sails on the Dover – Calais route.  The ship is one of the Stena E-Flexer class of ferries.  She was the fifth example of the class to be completed.

As with the other E-Flexer class vessels, CÔTE D’OPALE was constructed in China for Stena RoRo.  Unlike the other members of the class, she was conceived and built as a day ferry.  This means that she has no passenger cabin accommodation onboard.  At 215.86m in length, CÔTE D’OPALE is the longest ferry in service on English Channel services.

CÔTE D’OPALE replaced the veteran Ro-Pax ferry CALAIS SEAWAYS in the DFDS fleet during August 2021.  The latter vessel was then laid up pending sale.

Passenger accommodation onboard CÔTE D’OPALE is spread over two decks, though the lower of these decks is dedicated to commercial drivers.  Leisure passengers have access to a range of facilities on deck 8, including the largest duty-free shop of any ferry on the English Channel.  Her layout is the biggest departure to date to that on the first E-Flexer, STENA ESTRID, reflecting her role as a Dover Strait ferry.

In terms of vehicle capacity, CÔTE D’OPALE is amongst the most capacious ferries crossing between England and France.  As with her Stena Line E-Flexer part-sisters in service on the Irish Sea, she can accommodate 3,100 lane metres of freight.  In addition, as with the Stena Line ships, she can also take 120 passenger cars in a separate garage where required.

On the technical side, CÔTE D’OPALE retains most of the standard setup seen on the Stena Line E-Flexers.  The biggest changes are the addition of a third bow thruster for improved manoeuvrability in port, and a Heinen and Hopman supplied heating and ventilation system in place of the usual Novenco system.

The following posts involving CÔTE D’OPALE are available on niferry.co.uk