EMEA News
Fuel Costs Sink High-Speed Ferry
Stena Line says it is sending its high speed sea service (HSS) vessel, the Stena Voyager, to the recycling yard because high fuel costs make the ferry impractical.
The Stena Voyager, with a top speed of 40 knots and room for 1,500 passengers and 375 vehicles, operated on the Belfast, Northern Ireland-Stranraer, Scotland route between 1996 and 2011.
"Whilst the HSS class was a unique and highly innovative development for Stena Line, unfortunately the spiralling costs of operating the Stena Voyager have become all too high," said Michael McGrath, Stena Line's Chief Operating Officer.
"When the Voyager was first put into service fuel was approximately $20 per barrel and now the price is around $110, for a fuel hungry vessel this is simply untenable.
"We live in different times now and we have to invest in more fuel efficient services for our freight and travel passengers."
McGrath said the company has introduced two Superfast ferries between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The Stena Voyager will be recycled by Stena Recycling at the Öresundsvarvet shipyard in Landskrona, Sweden.
In the fall of 2011 Stena Line replaced all its three HSS ships, including the Voyager, with the Superfast vessels that have a maximum speed of 27 knots, the company said at the time.
At the same time, the company opened a new port at Cairnryan, Scotland to reduce the travel time and fuel costs of the North Ireland-Scotland trip.
