On Friday 28 June, the keel laying ceremony of the first of the two all-new NewMax hybrid vessels took place in China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in WeiHai, China. Stena Futura, the chosen name for this ship, is one of two NewMax hybrid vessels that will play a key role in Stena Line’s journey to sustainable fuel as they will both be able to operate on methanol fuel, according to the company's release.
These vessels will significantly enhance capacity on the Belfast-Heysham route on the Irish Sea. Besides being able to run on methanol, a priority during construction of the vessels will be to provide built-in technologies that can take advantage of both battery propulsion and shore power, where this is available.
Keel-laying is one of the milestones in the construction of a ship and the formal recognition of the start of a ship’s construction. The keel-laying of the second of the two NewMax vessels is planned for this fall and the name of that vessel is yet to be revealed. The NewMax hybrid vessels will be launched on the Irish Sea in 2025.
Stena Line is one of Europe's leading ferry companies with approximately 40 vessels and 20 routes in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean operating 33,300 sailings each year. The company is family-owned, was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Gothenburg. Stena Line has 6,100 employees and an annual turnover of 19 billion SEK.