On 22nd February 2015 the 30,551gt/2002 built Stena Superfast X departed from Gdynia, Poland, following a major refit to transform her from a ship adapted for Dover-Calais (as the Seafrance Moliere/Dieppe Seaways) to one capable of offering the standards required for a day/night service on the Holyhead-Dublin route.

The Cardiff registered ship is a sister ship of the award winning Stena Superfast VII and VIII ships which have been a huge success on the Cairnryan to Belfast route since their launch in 2011. With 10 decks, the Stena Superfast X has the capacity to carry up to 1,200 passengers and offers almost two kilometres of lane capacity for freight traffic and tourist vehicles. The on board accommodation includes a Driver’s Lounge, cabins, a Barista Coffee House, Met Bar and Grill, retail shopping in the Outlet, two free cinemas, a family lounge featuring a children’s play area and XBox stations plus lots of other areas for passengers to enjoy their crossing, including Stena Line’s premium lounge Stena Plus.

The Stena Superfast X arrived at Holyhead on 26th February and, once berthing trials were completed, took over completely from the Stena Nordica from 9th March. The official launch maiden voyage departed Holyhead for Dublin at 0800 two days later where the ship was then greeted by tugs Beaufort and Shackleton (above). The launch and naming ceremony were performed by Stena Line Chairman Dan Sten Olsson and Irish broadcast personality Kathryn Thomas along with over 170 guests at Dublin Port. The Stena Superfast X operates a twice daily return sailing schedule departing Dublin Port 0215 hrs/1510 hrs and departing Holyhead 0855 hrs/2030 hrs, completing the crossings in 3 hours and 15 minutes.

The Superfast X will operate alongside the Stena Adventurer, providing Stena Line customers with a choice of up 28 return sailings per week all year round on the route. The 24,206gt/2000 built Stena Nordica is destined to replace the now Stena Superfast X for DFDS Seaways on their Dover-Calais service. Further north at Cairnryan the Stena Superfast VIII has again achieved top ranking in the Stena fleet for customer satisfaction making it two in a row, 2013 and 2014.