Stena Line says that its ro-ro vessel ‘Stena Foreteller’ is soon to return to service on the Europoort/Rotterdam – Immingham route following a major rebuild and renovation, including an additional cargo deck and a 30% increase in capacity, making the vessel more efficient with reduced CO₂ emissions per cargo unit.
Stena RoRo has led the reconstruction of the 2002-built Stena Line vessel at the Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling in Weihai. Stena Foreteller has been fitted with a fourth vehicle deck on top of the existing three, increasing the number of lane metres from 3,000 to 4,000.
Dennis Tetzlaff, COO Fleet, Stena Line, said: “The rebuild of the Stena Foreteller is another step among many we are taking to reach our goal of reducing our CO₂ emissions by 30% by 2030. We are working on many fronts, where the improvement of existing vessels and the development of new ones are equally important.”
The vessel has been equipped with a shore power connection system, which will reduce CO₂ emissions while in port. Due to the additional deck, the wind exposed area has increased, placing greater demands on the vessel’s manoeuvrability and mooring. As a result, the bow thrusters have been upgraded and additional mooring winches have been installed. Furthermore, minor repairs and preventive maintenance have been carried out, and some onboard systems have been upgraded to newer versions. As part of the rebuild, Stena Line has repainted the vessel.
Stena Forerunner, the sister ship of Stena Foreteller, will undergo the same rebuild later in 2025.
Mikael Abrahamsson, Manager, Conversions & Projects, Stena RoRo, said: “This is a typical Stena ro-ro project, where we leverage our extensive experience to rebuild vessels according to the customer’s wishes and needs. Rebuilding vessels with a long history in a foreign country is always technically and culturally challenging, but it is balanced out by competent, experienced staff and strong cooperation.”
At the CMI Jinling shipyard, two new hybrid New Max vessels for Stena Line – Stena Futura and Stena Connecta – are currently being completed. They are scheduled for delivery in the fall and will operate the Belfast – Heysham route in the Irish Sea. The two vessels play an important role in Stena Line’s efforts to reduce emissions, as both will be able to run on methanol fuel. They are equipped with technology that supports both battery propulsion and shore power connection.
Image: ‘Stena Foreteller’ (source: Stena Line)
