Irish Sea ferry Stena Mersey (Stena Baltica) set to sail out of the Mersey River for the last time, heading to the Baltic Sea.
At 10.30 am on Saturday morning, February 13, the 26,500 GT vessel sailed from Twelve Quays Terminal (Birkenhead/ Liverpool) to embark on her last scheduled 8-hour crossing to Belfast Ireland, carrying lorries, cars and passengers.
For most of the past 15 years, Stena Mersey operated on the Birkenhead-Belfast route of Stena Line (shipowner), which offers up to 2 return sailings daily, along with sistership Stena Lagan (Stena Scandica).
However, as part of a GBP 40 million drydock refurbishment/reconstruction and new investment on the Irish Sea routes, Stena's both ships were replaced with two E-Flexer class newbuild cruiseferries. The move increased Stena's capacity on the route by 1/5.
In early-2020, the E-Flexer Stena Edda replaced Stena Lagan and now, with the sistership Stena Embla having arrived in the Irish Sea from a Chinese shipyard in January, Stena Mersey will also head off to the Baltic.
Mersey will shortly join Lagan at a Turkish shipyard where both liners will undergo drydock overhauls in order to extend their life spans. They'll be fitted with more passenger cabins and upgraded roll-on/roll-off capabilities, then redeployed on Baltic Sea routes.
Following the refurbs, Stena Mersey will be renamed "Stena Baltica", while Stena Lagan will be renamed "Stena Scandica".