2024 was a record year for Stena Line freight volumes on its three Belfast services with almost 600,000 freight units being shipped between Cairnryan, Liverpool (Birkenhead) and Heysham.
Demand for freight services to and from Belfast has been increasing steadily in recent years with the Belfast-Liverpool (Birkenhead) route in particular growing in popularity with hauliers and three ships serving the route.
Stena Line’s travel business has also had a strong year with almost 1.7m passengers and 500,000 cars passing through Belfast in 2024.
Later this year, Stena Line will mark 30 years of ferry services from Belfast. The business moved from Larne to Belfast Harbour in 1995 with one ferry route to Stranraer and has now grown to three routes and seven ships.
Paul Grant, Irish Sea North Trade Director said, “Today, Belfast is one of the most strategically important business hubs across the Stena Line network. Our Irish Sea business has transformed over the last three decades through a combination of continued investment and the continued support from our customers.”
“August brings another exciting chapter to the Belfast journey with the introduction of the first of our two NewMax ships on the Heysham service, Stena Futura, which will provide an additional 40% freight capacity on the route when joined by Stena Connecta in early 2026.
“The two NewMax hybrid vessels will play a key role in developing Stena Line’s sustainability journey as they will both be able to operate on methanol fuel. They will also be enhanced with built in technologies that will be able to utilise both battery propulsion and shore power, when available.”
Joe O’Neill, Chief Executive of Belfast Harbour, said: “Stena Line is one of Belfast Harbour’s most important strategic partners and should be commended for achieving record freight volumes in what was a relatively flat year for the wider economy.
“This success reflects the quality of service offered by Stena Line and its willingness to respond to customer demand with new investment. We are excited by the potential to increase freight volumes further on Stena Line’s Belfast routes when the company’s two NewMax vessels are introduced.”
Stena Line is the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea, with the biggest fleet providing up to 238 weekly sailings offering the widest choice of routes including: combined passenger and freight services from Belfast to Cairnryan and Liverpool, Dublin to Holyhead, Rosslare to Fishguard, Rosslare to Cherbourg, in addition to the dedicated freight only routes from Belfast to Heysham and Dublin – Liverpool.
