Swedish ferry operator Stena Line held the naming ceremony for its newest NewMax hybrid Ro-Ro vessel, Stena Connecta, at the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai on October 16th, 2025.
The vessel is built for the Belfast–Heysham route and is expected to enter regular service in January 2026. It is the sister ship to Stena Futura, which entered service in September 2025, and together the two new builds are intended to boost freight capacity on the route by around 40%.
Stena Connecta measures 147 metres in length and offers approximately 2,848 lane metres of freight capacity.
Its propulsion system is multi-hybrid, designed to run on battery power, bio-fuel and methanol, and it is fitted with two Norsepower Rotor Sails that can achieve up to 9% fuel savings on its Irish Sea operations.
Stena Line’s Chief Executive Officer, Niclas Mårtensson, remarked that the two new vessels represent the latest in maritime technology and would play a crucial role in maintaining transport links between Ireland and the UK, while contributing to the company’s target of reducing CO₂ emissions by 30% by 2030.