Freight News, Sea

Record freight for Stena in Belfast

[ January 14, 2026   //   Chris Lewis ]

Stena Line posted record freight volumes on its Belfast routes with almost 600,000 units shipped in 2025 on its three Belfast services to Cairnryan, Liverpool (Birkenhead) and Heysham.

The record was set in the 30^th year of operations from Belfast Harbour following its move from Larne in 1995.

Demand for freight services to and from Belfast has been increasing steadily in recent years with the Belfast-Liverpool (Birkenhead) route in particular growing in popularity with over 270,000 units.

The Belfast to Heysham service also recorded its highest volumes in the last five years and Stena anticipates further significant growth on this route with the introduction of the new Stena Connecta on 23 January.

Stena Connecta will operate alongside sister ship Stena Futura which was launched onto the route in November 2025.  Both ships will provide an additional 40% freight capacity when fully operational with a choice of 24 sailings per week.

Tags: Stena