Farewell Stena Voyager – 10 years on
Stena Line’s HSS concept proved to be very popular, but high fuel costs saw them axed prematurely. 10 years ago last Friday, Stena Voyager departed Belfast for the last time.
Stena HSS Concept (HSS 1500 class)
[Photo Feature] The Day Stena Voyager Left Belfast
On the 8th Anniversary of the HSS leaving Belfast for the final time we take a look back.
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
HSS Stena Explorer leaves Holyhead for the final time
The sole remaining Stena HSS 1500 craft left Holyhead under tow yesterday with a destination of Turkey
Update: HSS Stena Explorer’s final Holyhead departure delayed
Poor weather conditions delay Stena Explorer’s final Irish Sea voyage. HSS Stena Explorer‘s final departure from Holyhead, which was due to take place this afternoon, appears to have been delayed due to unfavourable weather conditions. It is now expected that the vessel will be towed from the port over the weekend, probably on Sunday. Work appears to be continuing on HSS Stena Explorer, now renamed One World Karadeniz, to prepare her for the long tow to Turkey, where it is thought she will be converted for static use.  HSS Stena Explorer is the last remaining member of Stena’s ground breaking HSS 1500 class. Title image: HSS Explorer passing HSS Voyager, which is at Harland and Wolff’s ship repair quay.  Stena Discovery is just just visible under the massive yellow “samson” crane in the background.  Copyright © Alan Geddes.
Official: HSS Stena Explorer due to leave Holyhead tomorrow
Final HSS 1500 craft Stena Explorer sold for future use. Stena Line have officially confirmed that the final HSS 1500 vessel, Stena Explorer, has been sold to Turkish buyers and is due to leave Holyhead for the last time tomorrow, weather permitting, under the escort of tugs. Stena have however not confirmed what Stena Explorer’s future use will be, though they have said that she will continue her career under new ownership. The anchor handling tug Bluster arrived in Holyhead earlier this week, with the task to tow Stena Explorer to Turkey. Another tug, Afon Cefni, arrived in Holyhead this morning. It is assumed she may assist Bluster and Holyhead’s own tug St David in manoeuvring HSS Stena Explorer from her berth in Holyhead. HSC Specialists Maatsuyker have said (via twitter earlier this week) that her future use is to be static in Istanbul, it is assumed that this will be for … Read more
HSS Stena Explorer latest: Tug Bluster expected in Holyhead this evening.
![Stena Explorer docking in Dun Laoghaire. By StenaLine-StenaExplorer-DunLoaghaire-2008-04-07_5.jpg: Benjamin.nagel derivative work: Wexcan  Talk [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.niferry.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/HSS_Stena_Explorer_in_Dun_Laoghaire.webp)
It has been confirmed that the anchor handling tug, Bluster, is expected to arrive in Holyhead this evening, with the task of towing the remaining Stena HSS 1500 vessel Stena Explorer to Turkey. Speculation as to what future awaits the vessel has been rife online, with some expectant that the vessel will proceed straight to scrapping at Aliaga, rather than to Istanbul for conversion to static use as previously announced. No departure date for the remaining HSS 1500 vessel has been announced, however it is expected that she will leave Holyhead for the last time in the near future. It is known that HSS Stena Explorer‘s engines have been started regularly, and it is expected that she may move under her own power one last time, in order to leave her inner harbour berth at Holyhead before being towed by the Dutch tug Bluster the rest of the way to Turkey. HSS Stena Explorer was … Read more
HSS Stena Explorer sold for static use
Former Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead ferry HSS Stena Explorer reportedly sold to Turkey. Brokerage and HSC specialists Maatsuyker this morning reported via twitter that Stena’s HSS Stena Explorer has been sold for static use in Istanbul, Turkey. Stena Explorer was of course the first of 3 HSS1500 class craft built by Aker Finnyards for Stena Line, and is the sole survivor of the class. Her sisters, Stena Voyager (which previously operated Belfast – Stranraer), and Stena Discovery (which originally operated Harwich – Hoek van Holland, and latterly named HSS Discovery) have already been “recycled” in Sweden and Turkey respectively.  All 3 HSS1500 class have been regular visitors to Belfast in the past, with Harland & Wolff appointed as the sole dry-docking facility for the class. End of an era today as the surviving HSS 1500, Stena Explorer, is sold. — Maatsuyker HSC (@MaatsuykerHsc) October 23, 2015 HSS Stena Explorer has been laid up in Holyhead … Read more
The end of an era: Goodbye to P&O’s HSC Express.
P&O Ferries Express has completed her final sailing for the company, also potentially the final fast-craft sailing between Scotland & Northern Ireland
Stena Line dry dock update
As of last weekend, four of Stena’s Irish Sea ships should have completed overhauls: Stena Performer, Stena Mersey, Stena Lagan and Stena Hibernia. Stena Hibernia had been expected to resume service to Liverpool (Birkenhead) at 15:00hrs on Monday, but is still at Harland & Wolff. Stena Precision is currently en-route from Birkenhead to Belfast so may well swap places with Hibernia after discharging in Belfast as she is the next vessel scheduled to visit Harland & Wolff. Stena Superfast VIII and then Stena Superfast VII are expected to visit Harland & Wolff in March with Stena Nordica providing cover on the North Channel service following being displaced on the Dublin – Holyhead route by Stena Superfast X. Of 7 ships a total of 6 have been/will be handled by Harland & Wolff – Stena Lagan being the exception as she went to A&P Falmouth in December as the H&W where busy handling … Read more
Some former North Channel Ferries in photographs
This post has been replaced by a new dedicated page here. Photographs of some of the ferries which previously plied their trade in our waters. Â Note, that due to the age of these photographs (many of which where originally taken with film cameras and scanned), picture quality is sometimes not up to modern standards.
Further update on the former Stena Antrim
From reading Spanish news reports it would appear that the former Stena Antrim (ex St Christopher, now Ibn Battouta) has been declared abandoned along with 3 other ships previously owned by the failed COMARIT/COMANAV ferry operation.  A demand for EUR 386,191.58 in fees owed to the port has been made to be paid within 15 days (of the 21st of March) it seems, or the ships will presumably be sold at auction.  As previously reported on this site the 4 ships have lain idle at Algericas  for almost 3 years now, and with COMARIT/COMANAV bankrupt (though I understand some legal proceedings are still underway) its hard to see where the money is going to come from.  Another of the ships, Al Mansour, also served on the Irish Sea briefly for B&I line between Rosslare and Pembroke, though she will be remembered by many as RMT’s Reine Astrid operating from Ostend to … Read more
