FERRY STARTS 10,000-MI JOURNEY TO HOLYHEAD:
New Dublin ferry sets off on 10,000-mile journey from China to Holyhead
STENA Line’s newest ferry has departed the AVIC Weihai Shipyard in north-western China on its mammoth voyage to Holyhead.
Stena Estrid is the first of five next-generation Stena Line RoPax vessels to be completed at the shipyard and is now en route to Wales.
It will start service in January on the Holyhead-Dublin route.
Manned by a crew of just 27, with no passengers, the ship’s journey of well over 10,000 miles will take just over a month, making several stops.
The first stage of the voyage is a week-long 2,657-nautical-mile trip across the South China and then East China Sea to Singapore, travelling at an economical speed of 17 knots.
Having refuelled and stocked up on provisions, Estrid will then proceed at 15 knots through the Malacca Straits to Galle in Sri Lanka, before crossing the Indian Ocean and making its way to the Suez Canal.
Once through the Suez Canal, the ship will head west across the Mediterranean Sea, continuing at 15 knots until it reaches Gibraltar, where it will stop for more fuel and provisions.
At this stage it will welcome on board more crew members, who will undertake familiarisation and training during the final leg of Stena Estrid’s journey, up through the Atlantic Ocean, across the Bay of Biscay and finally into the island port.
It is expected to arrive just before or after Christmas.
Once in Holyhead, final preparations will begin to get Estrid ready to start service on the route in midJanuary.
Speaking from the ship’s bridge shortly after departure, Senior Master Matthew Lynch said: “After six years of planning and construction, we are so excited to be finally on board Stena Estrid and departing China on our way home to Britain.
“We obviously have a very long way to go but we’re really looking forward to it and to meeting with our colleagues in Gibraltar, before embarking on the final leg of our journey to Holyhead.”
At 215 metres in length, Stena Estrid will provide freight capacity of 3,100 lane meters, meaning a 50% increase in freight tonnage, and the space to carry 120 cars and 1,000 passengers and crew.
A further two of the new ferries are also destined for the Irish Sea, with Stena Edda expected to commence operations from Liverpool to Belfast next spring, and a third vessel, Stena Embla, to be introduced on the same route in early 2021.