Stena Line reached a further milestone in its NewMax fleet investment programme in late February with a ceremony to mark Stena Connecta launching into the water at the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard, Weihai, China.
Stena Connecta is one of two new ships due to serve the Heysham-Belfast route, a key trade corridor across the Irish Sea. Now that Stena Connecta has entered the water, the shipyard will continue with the installation of the interior.
Sistership, Stena Futura is currently being fitted out and is due to enter service late August 2025. Stena Connecta will follow in early 2026.
Once operational, Stena Connecta and Stena Futura will enhance freight capacity by 40% on the Belfast-Heysham route in response to an increase in customer demand for services between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
The two hybrid vessels are equipped to operate on methanol fuel and will play a key role in Stena Line’s sustainability journey.
They will also be enhanced with built in technologies that will be able to utilise both battery propulsion and shore power, when available.
Stena Line is working closely with methanol suppliers, ensuring future volumes of e-methanol and fulfilling their strategic ambition of shifting to renewable fuels and cutting 30% of its CO2 emissions by 2030.
Uniquely, Stena Connecta will be fitted with rotor sails, which harness wind power to provide auxiliary propulsion to the vessel, therefore reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
