STENA SUPERFAST VIII (ex SUPERFAST VIII) imo: 9198953
STENA SUPERFAST VIII is one of two sister-ships which currently operate Stena Line’s Belfast to Cairnryan (Loch Ryan Port) service. She was completed in 2001 as SUPERFAST VIII for Attica Holdings’ Superfast Ferries subsidiary as the second vessel of the four ship Superfast VII series completed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel, Germany.
As-built her sister-ships are the current STENA SUPERFAST VII, ATLANTIC VISION, and STENA SUPERFAST X. Along with SUPERFAST VII, she was built specifically to operate Superfast Ferries’ new Baltic Sea service between Hanko (Finland) and Rostock (Germany), a service which was sold along with its vessels SUPERFAST VII-IX to Estonia’s Tallink in 2006 – just 5 years after it was established.
Since 2011 STENA SUPERFAST VIII has operated the Belfast – Cairnryan (Loch Ryan Port) route in tandem with her sister-ship STENA SUPERFAST VII after both ships were re-built for the route in Poland at a reported cost of €14m. Along with her sister and operating partner, STENA SUPERFAST VIII is the largest vessel to ever operate a ferry service between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
You can read more about STENA SUPERFAST VIII on her dedicated page here.
PR: Strong volumes on Belfast ferry routes
Leading ferry company Stena Line has recorded strong volumes on its Belfast services for the first six months of 2017. To the end of June 2017, freight volumes increased +5%, passengers and cars grew +4% year on year. The fastest growing sector was coaches recording a record +19% increase. Stena Line operates three services from Belfast Harbour which provide up to 14 daily crossings options between its Cairnryan, Liverpool (Birkenhead) and Heysham services. Paul Grant, Stena Line’s Trade Director (Irish Sea North) commented: “Despite operating in a highly competitive environment, we have delivered a very strong set of volume increases across all of our three Belfast services. Despite intense competition, our freight volumes have increased with demand particularly high on our Belfast-Liverpool service. The rise in coach volumes has been assisted significantly by the increasing demand for day visits and from Chinese tour parties.” Paul Grant added: “Stena Line continues ... Read more
PR: Stena makes substantial investment in Belfast Route
Stena Line’s parent company has confirmed a multi-million pound investment package to acquire the Superfast VII and Superfast VIII ferries which operate on its Belfast-Cairnryan route. The ships currently operate under a charter contract agreement with AS Tallink Grupp and have done since they were deployed on the Belfast – Cairnryan route when it opened in November 2011. Since then the vessels have proved to be both highly reliable and extremely popular with Stena Line customers, hence the acquisition. Paul Grant, Stena Line’s Trade Director (Irish Sea North) said: “We are delighted to confirm that we have now acquired the highly successful Superfast VII and VIII vessels. Since their arrival the ships have proved to be perfectly suited to our 2hr 15 min service between Belfast and Cairnryan and appeal equally well to our freight and travel customer segments. Belfast is a key European business hub for Stena Line and ... Read more
In strange waters #2: Stena Line Irish Sea dry docking’s/refits 2017.
This page will be continually updated throughout the refit period which is expected to run until May 2017. Last years “in strange waters” can be found here. Please note that due to the nature of their content, both pages are very heavy in photographic material and may take a while to load on slower connections. The second part of this year’s feature can be found here. This year Stena Line will complete all Irish Sea dry docking’s at Belfast’s Harland and Wolff shipyard, that’s a total of 9 ships from the fleet of 11. At the end of 2016 Stena announced that the entire fleet would be receiving the latest livery and strap-line “Connecting Europe for a Sustainable Future” during their scheduled dry docking’s, in a style similar to that applied to Stena Britannica recently. This replaces the previous “Making Good Time” strap-line. (Title image: Stena Europe in Rosslare displaying the ... Read more
Stena kicks-off Irish Sea refit programme
Stena Hibernia first of 9 Stena Line vessels to visit Harland and Wolff. Stena Line kicked off their 2017 Irish Sea refit programme today (Wednesday), with Stena Hibernia making the short journey across the River Lagan to Harland and Wolff’s ‘Belfast Dry Dock’. Stena Europe will be next to go for refit on Jan 4th, covered by Stena Nordica which is returning to the Irish Sea as the refit cover vessel this year. This follows spells on the English Channel and Mediterranean with DFDS and GNV respectively, following her displacement on the Dublin to Holyhead route by Stena Superfast X. Stena Nordica is of course a part-sister ship to P&O’s European Causeway and European Highlander, having been built for P&O as European Ambassador. £7m contract It is expected that the Stena Line Irish Sea refit programme for 2017 will run until early next May. As reported previously, Harland and Wolff ... Read more