Stena RoRo ordered a 6th roll-on-roll-off passenger (ro-pax) cruiseferry in company's E-Flexer series by the shipbuilder AVIC Weihai Shipyard Co (Weihai, China).
Unlike the first 5 vessels in this series (built as LNG-ready), the new (6th) ferry will be originally LNG-powered (with dual-fuel engines) and delivered in 2021. This E-Flexer ship (Galicia) will be chartered by Brittany Ferries for 10 years to serve the route Portsmouth-Bilbao-Santander.
The E-Flexers are 42400 GT-ton, 215-m long ferries. They can accommodate up to 1000 passengers and with wheeled cargo capacity 3100 lanemetres (for vehicles).
Of the 5 earlier, LNG-ready ferries in the E-Flexer series, Stena will operate 3 on its Irish Sea routes while the 4th ship will also sail in Brittany Ferries fleet on the UK-Spain route. The 5th is set to make English Channel crossings between Dover-Calais under a ten-year bareboat charter with shipping company DFDS.
The first four E-Flexer class STENA passenger liners are due for delivery between late 2019 - late 2020, and the DFDS ship is due to be delivered in 2021.