On 4th April it was revealed that Stena has signed a contract, subject to Board approval by the end of April, for an order of four new RoPax ferries with planned delivery during 2019 and 2020, with an option for another four vessels. The vessels will be optimized for efficiency and flexibility and will be built by AVIC Shipyard in China. The intention is that the four initial vessels will be used within Stena lines route network in Northern Europe, particularly those lines already running to capacity.

The vessels will have a capacity of more than 3,000 lane metres in a drive-through configuration and will accommodate around 1,000 passengers and offer a full range of passenger services. The main engines will be gas-ready, prepared to be fuelled by either methanol or ING. The Deltamarin group has proudly announced its part in the project, to deliver a comprehensive engineering, procurement, construction and management (EPCM) package for Stena’s ro-pax ferry newbuilds. Deltamarin will work in the project not only as a designer but also as a provider of comprehensive project management services to support AVIC SHIP and AVIC Weihai Shipyard in the vessel construction. Deltamarin’s engineering package includes approval design, support in procurement handling and detail design. Deltamarin Floating Construction will carry out the construction management in close co-operation with AVIC, and supplement the construction team with long passenger ship building experience. The project management services also include master planning, procurement of the project materials and material management, project information management and site supervision.

Deltamarin developed the concept of the vessel at an earlier stage in close collaboration with the owner Stena. It is designed for Stena line’s North European routes and complies with the latest rules and regulations for safety and environment. In the design special attention has been paid to the vessels’ fuel efficiency as well as maximising the cargo space.

Meanwhile Stena line has sold the 20,028gt/1982 built ferry Trelleborg for future service in Mediterranean waters as the Sunny. She was noted en-route south in early April, calling at Gibraltar for bunkers.