Stena RoRo has ordered two new ships from the Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling (Weihai). These are the 11th and 12th Stena E-Flexer vessels in the RoPax class developed by Stena RoRo and delivery is slated for 2024 and 2025. At the same time, long-term charter contracts have been signed with the French ferry company Brittany Ferries. The ships will operate between Portsmouth in the UK and Quistreham (Caen) and St.  Malo in France, respectively, two of Brittany Ferries' primary routes.

NB 275: New construction no. 11 in the Stena E-Flexer class. For delivery to Brittany Ferries in 2024.

NB 278: New construction no. 12 in the Stena E-Flexer class. For delivery to Brittany Ferries in 2025.

The two ships, together with three previously ordered E-Flexer class vessels, will renew and modernize Brittany Ferries' current fleet of cargo and passenger ships.  The first ferry, the Galicia, was delivered in the autumn of 2020. The second will be delivered in November 2021 and the third in 2023. The two new ferries have a capacity of 2,377 and 2,517 lane meters, respectively, and both carry up to 1,400 persons onboard. 

The four most recently ordered ferries are equipped for LNG operation, entailing that they can run on LNG, biogas or other new fuels such as ammonia. In addition, the ships now ordered will also be equipped with a large battery hybrid package for energy consumption of 10 MWh for propulsion and maneuvering in port.  They will also be equipped with an 8 MW electric shore connection for charging the batteries which entails an environmentally friendly stay in port. The large battery capacity enables speeds up to 17.5 knots on battery power alone.

"The advanced and future-proof propulsion system developed for these vessels means that they can be operated with several different types of fuel," says Per Westling, managing director for Stena RoRo AB. "This makes them well prepared for the new fuels not yet commercially available, but that will need to be developed and used in the future."

"We are pleased to confirm our two new orders for E-Flexer vessels, which have each proven to be adaptable not only to our specific customer- and market-related needs, but also enable us to take a significant step forward in terms of our strong commitment to sustainability," says Christophe Mathieu , CEO for Brittany Ferries.