''Stena Germanica'' is a large

cruiseferry A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while oth ...

operated by Stena Line between Gothenburg and

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, together with MS ''Stena Scandinavica'' (2002). Between 2001 and 2010, as ''Stena Hollandica'' she operated on the Harwich to

Hook of Holland Hook of Holland ( nl, Hoek van Holland, ) is a town in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; ''hoek'' means "corner" and was the word in use before the word ''kaap'' – "cape", from Portuguese ''cabo'' – became Dutch. The English t ...

service.

History

''Stena Germanica'' was built by

Astilleros Españoles Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to ...

shipyard in

Puerto Real Puerto Real () is a seaport in Andalusia, in the province of Cádiz. , it had a population of 40,667. The town is located on the northern shore of the inner lobe of the Bay of Cádiz, on the site of the ancient Roman settlement of Portus Gad ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. She entered service between Harwich and

on 9 March 2001 as ''Stena Hollandica''. In January 2007, the high speed ferry ''Stena Discovery'' was withdrawn from service. To accommodate the extra traffic the ''Stena Hollandica'' was sent to the Lloyd Werft yard in

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

in March 2007 for lengthening. The vessel was cut in two vertically and a 52-metre section was inserted, making this the biggest enlargement ever made to a RoPax vessel. In May 2010, ''Stena Hollandica'' was replaced on the Harwich–Hook of Holland route by the first of two 62,000 ton superferries. ''Stena Hollandica'' underwent an extensive refit at the

Remontowa Remontowa (full name: Gdańska Stocznia "Remontowa" im. J. Piłsudskiego S.A.) is a company and shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. The yard specialises in ship repair and conversions. ''Remontowa S.''A. is one of 26 companies that make up the Remonto ...

shipyard in Gdańsk, re-entering service in August 2010 on the Gothenburg – Kiel route as ''Stena Germanica III''. She was renamed ''Stena Germanica'' a month later.

Methanol

The Stena Germanica is the first major marine vessel to run on recycled methanol after a conversion in 2015 in Poland. Relative to conventional marine bunker fuels, methanol reduces emissions significantly. For reliability purposes, the common rail engine can still run on the marine gas oil as backup. Operation on methanol is expected to reduce SOx emissions by 99%, NOx by 60%, carbon dioxide by 25% and particulate matter by 95%.

Sister ships

''Stena Germanica'' is the last of four Seapacer class ships built by

for Stena Line. The first two vessels, ''Finnclipper'' and ''Finneagle'' were built in 1998 and chartered to

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

ferry operator

Finnlines Finnlines Plc ( fi, Finnlines Oyj, sv, Finnlines Abp) is a shipping operator of ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. It is a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group. Finnlines’ sea transports are concentrated in the Bal ...

. The next two vessels, ''Stena Britannica'' and ''Stena Hollandica'' were built in 2000 and operated by Stena Line themselves.

References

Lloyd's Register (2015). " LR to class the world's first-ever methanol-powered sea vessel". Retrieved 2015-01-09, from http://www.lr.org/en/news-and-insight/news/lr-to-class-the-worlds-first-ever-methanol-powered-sea-vessel.aspx

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stena Germanica (2000) Ferries of Sweden Ferries of Germany Ships built in Spain 2000 ships Germanica 2001