Feature, Freight News, Road, Sea
Stena celebrates three decades in Belfast with freight record
[ January 29, 2025 // Chris Lewis ]Stena Line had a record year for freight on its three Belfast services in 2024 with almost 600,000 units being shipped between Cairnryan, Liverpool (Birkenhead) and Heysham.
The ferry operator says that demand to and from Belfast has been increasing steadily in recent years with the Belfast-Liverpool (Birkenhead) route in particular growing in popularity with hauliers and three ships serving the route. It added that while there was a small uplift with the temporary closure of Holyhead due to storm damage on 7 December, the underlying performance was the main reason for the record volumes.
Later this year, Stena Line will mark 30 years of ferry services from Belfast. The business moved from Larne to Belfast Harbour in 1995 with one ferry route to Stranraer – a port later replaced by the more commodious Cairnryan – and has now grown to three routes and seven ships.
Irish Sea North trade director, Paul Grant, said, “Today, Belfast is one of the most strategically important business hubs across the Stena Line network. Our Irish Sea business has transformed over the last three decades through a combination of continued investment and the continued support from our customers.”
In August, Stena is due to introduce the first of two NewMax ships on the Heysham/Belfast service, Stena Futura, which will provide an additional 40% freight capacity on the route when joined by Stena Connecta in early 2026.

Tags: Stena; Belfast