Stena Estelle officially enters the Gdynia-Karlskrona route with its first sailing Sep 4
On 3 September 2022, a ceremony was held to name the new vessel on the Gdynia-Karlskrona line. Champagne was broken on the side of the Stena Estelle ferry by the Deputy Mayor of Gdynia for Economy, Katarzyna Gruszecka-Spychała, the ship's godmother.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of local and central government authorities as well as the Port of Gdynia Authority and many companies from the shipping, forwarding and logistics sectors. From Stena Line's side, those present included Dan Sten Olsson, president of Stena AB Group and owner of Stena Line, Niclas Mårtensson, CEO of Stena Line and Marek Kiersnowski, director of Stena Line Polska Sp. z o.o. and trade director of the Gdynia-Karlskrona route. 250 friends and associates of Stena Line witnessed the official naming of the ship.
Stena Estelle is one of the largest ferries in the Baltic Sea in regular operation. It is 240 metres long, offers space for 1,200 people and can accommodate up to 200 trucks on 3,600 metres of car decks. It is not only its size that is unique, but also its construction. It is energy efficient thanks to its optimised design. It can be converted to run on gas, allowing fuel to be changed to methanol or LNG. During port calls, it can use shore power, which reduces exhaust emissions. A connection to the electric grid will enable future conversion to a battery hybrid system.
Passengers, meanwhile, will love the spacious, Scandinavian-designed interiors, with views of the sea through panoramic windows. A twin vessel, the Stena Ebba, will be introduced to the route later this year.
The deployment of the two large E-Flexers is the latest investment in the Baltic Sea expansion of Stena Line, which so far includes the modernisation of the fleet on Nynäshamn-Ventspils and Travemünde-Liepaja, and the setup a new route from Nynäshamn to Hanko.
Stena Estelle officially enters the Gdynia-Karlskrona route with its first sailing on Sunday 04.09.2022 at 21:00.
Facts about Stena Estelle:
Built: 2022
Naming ceremony: Gdynia, 03.09.2022
Godmother: Deputy Mayor of Gdynia, Ms Katarzyna Gruszecka-Spychała
Commencement of operations - 04.09.2022 by cruise from Gdynia at 21:00
Length: 240 m
Draught: 6,4 m
Width: 28 m
Freight capacity: 3600 m
Number of persons: 1200 persons
Number of cabins: 263
Stena Line is one of Europe's leading ferry companies with 38 vessels and 18 routes in Northern Europe operating 25,000 sailings each year. Stena Line is an important part of the European logistics network and develops new intermodal freight solutions by combining transport by rail, road and sea. Stena Line also plays an important role for tourism in Europe with its extensive passenger operations. The company is family-owned, was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Gothenburg. Stena Line has 5,100 employees and an annual turnover of 14 billion SEK.