By
Alex Smith |
Stena Line has officially taken delivery of its third E-Flexer ferry Stena Embla at a ceremony at CMI Jinling Weihai shipyard in Weihai, China.
Neil Whittaker, Stena Embla’s senior master, took the delivery in China, with Stena Line’s CEO Niclas Mårtensson joining remotely from the company’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. The ferry is the last of three new vessels that Stena Line has built for operation in the Irish Sea in a 7-year, £400 million ($536 million) development programme.
The vessel will now embark on a six-week journey to the UK and Ireland, where it will begin service in January 2021.
“Taking ownership of Stena Embla is a major milestone for Stena Line, as we look forward to better times ahead” said Mårtensson. “While delivery of the vessel marks the end of a very tough period for us, it also marks the completion of a very significant investment in our Irish Sea operations. It reflects our strong support for the region that will see three of the world’s most modern ferries operating between Britain and Ireland.”
Two more, larger E-Flexer ferries are currently under construction in China, with the destination of the currently unnamed ferries not yet revealed.