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New ship, new quayside…

[ March 10, 2020   //   ]

A £17m upgrade at the Twelve Quays ferry terminal in Birkenhead was used for the first time on 9 March by Stena Edda – the ferry operator’s next generation vessel on her maiden voyage to Belfast.

A joint project between port owner Peel Ports and Stena Line has expanded the dock to reduce turnaround times, increase capacity with a new double-deck linkspan and further improve safety with a one-way traffic system.

Peel managing director – group ports, David Huck, said: “This is the end of more than two years’ work to make a heavy investment in the infrastructure at Twelve Quays and offer enhanced berthing facilities for larger, more modern vessels. It also marks another milestone in our long-term partnership with Stena Line where we have worked together to improve our shared offering for freight and travel customers.”

Stena Line’s trade director (Irish Sea North) Paul Grant, said: “The route has seen an increase of freight by over a third in recent years and 2019 was a record year with over 225,000 freight units. So it is great to have the extra capacity of the new bigger vessels, which also bring a significant upgrade in service standards and facilities.”

Edda is one of three new Stena E-Flexer ro pax vessels with freight capacity of 3,100 lane metres low fuel consumption and emissions.

Head of freight at Stena Line Anna Breen, added: “With these new larger ferries we can cater for this increased demand and more. As well as 40% more lane metres the deck heights of over 5m mean we can also accommodate larger trailers. The beauty of the design of these new vessels is that they are true roll-on roll-off ferries with the ability to drive straight through them. This ensures a quicker turnaround in port; the first time these types of ferries have been available on this route.”

Link to short video as Stena Edda sets sail from Merseyside

 

 

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