Swedish ferry company Stena Line officially took ownership of its newest cruiseferry - Stena Embla, following the official handover ceremony held at CMI Jinling Weihai Shipyard in Weihai, China.
Stena Embla is the 3rd of 5 new "E-Flexer" class RoPax ships that are being built by AVIC Weihai Shipyard Co Ltd, as part of the extensive modernisation of the fleet. It is the last of 3 newbuilds due for the Irish Sea, which marked the end of a 7-year development program totalling a GBP 400 million investment in new ferries and port infrastructure in the region.
Stena Embla will now embark on a 6-week journey to the UK, starting service in January 2021.
Due to the pandemic, the handover was lower-key than previous ships with Stena Embla’s Master Neil Whittaker (Captain) and his team, taking the ferry's delivery in China. STENA’s CEO Niclas Martensson joined remotely from the company's headquarters in Goteborg Sweden.
Stena Line's E-Flexer ships are among the most advanced and fuel-efficient in operation and are much bigger than today’s RoPax ships. The 215-metre Stena Embla has freight capacity 3100 lanemetres (40% increase in freight tonnage) which allows carring a total of 120 cars and 1000 crew and passengers.
The remaining two E-Flexer ships (currently under construction in China) are larger versions (LOA length 240 metres) and scheduled for deliveries in 2022. The destination of these yet unnamed ferries has not yet been announced.