Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the world's largest

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

operators. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere. It is a sister company to Stena Bulk, one of largest tanker companies in the world.

History

Formation

Stena Line was founded in 1962 by Sten A. Olsson in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden, which still serves as the company's headquarters, when he acquired Skagenlinjen between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn, Denmark. In 1972, Stena Line was one of the first ferry operators in Europe to introduce a computer-based reservation system for the travel business area. In 1978, the freight business area also started operating a computer-based reservation system.

Freight

The first freight-focused route started between Gothenburg, Sweden, and

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, Germany. The ship was the MS ''Stena Transporter''.

North Sea

During the 1980s, Stena acquired three other ferry companies. * 1981, Sessan Line, Stena's biggest competitor on Sweden–Denmark routes, was acquired and incorporated into Stena Line. This included Sessan's two large newbuilds, ''Kronprinsessan Victoria'' and , which became the largest ships operated by Stena by that date. * 1983, Stena acquired Varberg-Grenå Linjen, and two years later also the right to that company's former name, Lion Ferry. Lion Ferry continued as a separate marketing company until 1997, when it was incorporated into Stena Line. * 1989, Stena acquired yet another ferry company, Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland (SMZ) (''which at the time traded under the name Crown Line''). SMZ's

Hook of Holland Hook of Holland (, ) is a coastal village in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; ''hoek'' means "corner" and was in use before the word ''wikt:kaap#Dutch, kaap'' – "cape". The English translation using Hook is a false cognate of t ...

– Harwich route then became a part of Stena Line.

North America

* 1988, July - Stena Line purchased the British Columbia Steamship Co., operators of a Victoria–

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

route. * 1990, November - The Victoria–Seattle run was permanently cancelled, and the local company ceased trading.

Irish Sea

In 1990, Stena Line doubled in size with the acquisition of Sealink British Ferries from Sea Containers. This first became Sealink Stena Line, then Stena Sealink Line and finally Stena Line (UK), which now operates all of Stena's ferry services between Great Britain and Ireland. In 1996, Stena Line introduced its 20,000 tonne HSS ( High-speed Sea Service) vessels, which operated:

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

–

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

;

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

–

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

and

– Harwich. In addition to the three 1,500-passenger HSS vessels, Stena Line ordered two smaller 900-passenger HSS vessels to operate on the

– Frederikshavn route. Due to the bankruptcy of the shipyard, only the first of these vessels was ever completed.

English Channel

In 1998, Stena's operations from

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

and Newhaven formed a joint venture with P&O European Ferries as P&O Stena Line, owned 40% and 60% respectively. In 2002, P&O acquired all of Stena's shares in the company, thus becoming the sole owner of P&O Stena Line, which soon changed its name to P&O Ferries.

Further expansion

In 2000, Stena Line purchased yet another Scandinavian ferry operator: Scandlines AB. In November 2006, Stena ordered a pair of "super ferries" with a

gross tonnage Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weig ...

of 62,000 from

Aker Yards Aker may refer to: Places * Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway * Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Aker Br ...

, Germany for delivery in 2010, with an option for two more ships of the same design. The new ferries will be amongst the largest in the world, to be operated on Stena's

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

route from

to Harwich. The existing ships from the

were to be moved to the Kiel–Gothenborg route, whereas the ships from Kiel would transfer to the

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...

route. The new ferries were launched in 2010, with ''Stena Hollandica'' entering service on 16 May 2010, and ''Stena Britannica'' planned to enter service in 2010.

Acquisitions and closures

* 2008, May - The company moved its

Terminal from Albert Quay to the new VT4. This has reduced the length of the crossing to

by ten minutes. * 2009, July - Stena Line announced that it had repurchased its former ship, '' Stena Parisien'', from SeaFrance. The ship was renamed ''Stena Navigator'' after a comprehensive refit. She was then introduced on the

to Belfast route, alongside HSS ''Stena Voyager'' and ''Stena Caledonia''. * 2010, December - Stena Line announced it had acquired the Northern Irish operations of DFDS Seaways. The sale includes the Belfast to

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal village in the Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. History Of historic ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

routes, two vessels from the Heysham route (Scotia Seaways & Hibernia Seaways) and two chartered vessels from the Birkenhead route ( & ). The

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

route ended on 24 December 2010. * 2011, 21 November - Stena Line introduced the '' Stena Superfast VII'' and '' Stena Superfast VIII'' to replace the '' Stena Navigator'' and ''Stena Caledonia'' on the

– Cairnryan route. It was announced that the '' Stena Voyager'' would be removed from service on 20 November 2011. It was later sold to Stena Recycling and sent for scrapping in May 2013. The two new vessels were initially chartered from Tallink before Stena bought them in 2017. * 2014, 26 February - it was announced that Stena Line would acquire the Celtic Link ferry service from Rosslare to

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, France. It was also agreed to take over the charter of their vessel ''Celtic Horizon,'' which was renamed '' Stena Horizon.'' * 2019, February - A joint venture with Hyundai Glovis has been announced and approved by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, for the implementation of a new cooperative short sea intra-European waters service in between the two carriers, for the sea transport of transhipment cargo originating from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. * 2020, 14 March - due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the company suspended operations between

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and Frederikshavn temporarily until further notice due to travel restrictions in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, the routes sole ship the '' MS Stena Saga'' was sent to

where she arrived on 16 March 2020 where the company later confirmed it would be making 950 redundancies in Sweden as a result of Coronavirus. The company then later announced on 19 March 2020 that it was going to permanently suspend and close operations on the Oslo–Frederikshavn service due to the lack of profitability, where Stena announced that due to Coronavirus it was unlikely able to see it turn a profit during the whole year when the service is totally dependent on the summer season. The future of ''Stena Saga'' remains uncertain and remained laid up in Gothenburg (since end of 2021 she has been anchored near Manila, Philippines). * 2020 – 2021 - After being replaced by two new e-flexers, MV ''Stena Embla'' and MV ''Stena Edda,'' on the

route MV ''Stena Mersey'' and MV ''Stena Lagan'' proceeded to Tuzla, Turkey for a major refit. This included lengthening by , adding full drive through capabilities on two decks, full interior renovation and adding fuel scrubbers to reduce emissions. They entered service on the Nynäshamn to

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

route as MV ''Stena Baltica'' and MV ''Stena Scandica'' respectively''.'' * 2021, February – May - Due to a shift in travel demand, MV ''Stena Estrid'' swapped with MV ''Stena Horizon'' giving additional capacity to the Rosslare to

route. This is after MV ''Stena Estrid'' operated a temporary route between

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and

in January 2021. * 2021, April - Stena introduced MV ''Stena Livia'''','' which has been owned by Stena RoRo since 2012, on the Nynäshamn to

route alongside sister ship MV ''Stena Flavia''. Later in the year they were transferred to the Travemünde to

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

route after being replaced by the newly refurbished MV ''Stena Baltica'' and MV ''Stena Scandica''. * 2021, June – July - Due to a shift in travel demand, MV ''Stena Estrid'' operated a temporary route between

and

. * 2022, 1 February - Stena introduced the Nynäshamn - Hanko route initially with MV ''Urd'' as a cargo vessel then additionally with MV ''Stena Gothica'' from May 2022''.'' * 2023, 30 June - Stena transferred MV ''Stena Vision'' to their Rosslare to

route, greatly increasing the passenger capacity and doubling the passenger sailings on the route. She replaced the chartered freight vessel MV ''Seatruck Panorama.'' She was replaced by the new MV ''Stena Ebba'' on her previous route

. * 2023, 9 October - Stena announced they will be closing the Nynäshamn to Hanko on 20 October 2023, with the vessels being transferred within their fleet or going up on the charter market. * 2023, October - Stena bought MV ''Frijsenborg,'' renaming her MV ''Stena Forwarder'' during a refit in

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

. She entered service on the

route on 2 November 2023, replacing MV ''Stena Foreteller''. * 2023, 15 December - Stena confirmed their intention to open a

route, replacing the P&O's service which they ceased operating on 21 December 2023 with MV ''Norbank''. On 19 February 2024, Stena Line initiated its new freight-only route from Dublin to Birkenhead, the Stena Horizon will be temporarily used on this route as a permanent vessel solution is being considered. MV ''Bore Song'' was introduced on the route from mid April 2024. * 2024, 8 March - Stena announced that they sold MV ''Urd'' to Sea Lines for an undisclosed amount. Delivery is to take place in May 2024 for services between Turkey and Romania. * 2024, 8 April - Stena Line acquired 49% of the shares in Africa Morocco Link (AML) from

Attica Group Attica Holdings S.A. is an operator of international ferry services in Europe. Attica Group's operations include its subsidiaries Superfast Ferries, which began in 1995 with the launch of its first ships, Superfast I & Superfast II, and Blu ...

, expanding them outside of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. They operate the routes Tanger Med, Morocco to

Algeciras Algeciras () is a city and a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of G ...

, Spain and Tanger Ville, Morocco to Tarifa, Spain. * 2024, May - Stena RoRo signed a contract to convert MV ''Stena Foreteller'' and MV ''Stena Forerunner'' to install an extra cargo deck and thruster power. This will add 30% additional capacity for each vessel. MV ''Stena Foreteller'' sailed for Weihai, China on 14 February 2025, she is due to arrive on 26 March 2025. * 2024, September - MV ''Stena Gothica'' was sold to Universal Maritime and renamed MV ''Gothica'' for service in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. * 2024, 10 September - MV ''Stena Vision'' will be removed from the Rosslare to

route due to lack of demand from 27 October 2024. * 2024, 7 December - Due to the closure of

port all sailings to

are cancelled, initially until 13 Dec then to 20 Dec then to 15 Jan 2025 with additional routes running out of

Fishguard Fishguard (, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,400 (rounded to the nearest 100) as of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Modern Fishguard consists of two parts, Lowe ...

with MV ''Stena Adventurer'''',''

with MV ''Stena Estrid'', and

with chartered MV ''Ben My Chree''''.'' The closure of the port was due to storm damage from Storm Darragh which damaged part of the pier at terminal 3. * 2024, 16 December - It was announced that MV '' Stena Vinga'' will be chartered to DFDS for their new route to

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

after winning the tender for it. She began service on 28 March 2025. * 2025, 21 March - It was announced that MV ''Stena Livia'' had been sold to Strait NZ Bluebridge for service on the

Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North Island, North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, ...

from August 2025. From 25 April MV ''Stena Horizon'' will take over from her on the Travemünde –

route with MV ''Stena Vision'' taking her previous post on the

– Rosslare route from 17 April after relieving the chartered MV ''Patria Seaways''.

Routes

Irish Sea

– Cairnryan: ''Stena Superfast VII'', ''Stena Superfast VIII'' *

–

: ''Stena Hibernia'', ''Stena Scotia'' *

–

: ''Stena Edda'', ''Stena Embla'', ''Stena Forwarder'' * Dublin Port –

: ''Bore Song'' *

– Dublin Port: ''Stena Adventurer'', ''Stena Estrid'' *

– Rosslare: ''Stena Vision'' *

– Rosslare: ''Stena Nordica''

North Sea

– Harwich: ''Stena Britannica'', ''Stena Hollandica'' *

– Immingham: ''Stena Transit'', ''Stena Transporter'' *

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

– Harwich: ''Jutlandia Sea,'' ''Thuleland'' *

– Immingham: ''Stena Forerunnner'', ''Fionia Sea''

Scandinavia

– Frederikshavn: , *

–

: ''Stena Germanica'', ''Stena Scandinavica'' *

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational urban areas of Sweden, city at the mouth of the Nissan (river), Nissan river, in the provinces of Sweden, province of Halland on the Sweden, Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat ...

– Grenå: *

Trelleborg Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of 31 December 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the Smygehuk, southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is one ...

–

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

: ''Mecklenburg Vorpommern'',

Baltic Sea

–

: ''Stena Estelle'', ''Stena Ebba'', '' Stena Spirit'' * Nynäshamn –

: ''Stena Scandica'', '' ''Stena Baltica'''' * Travemünde –

: ''Stena Flavia, Stena Horizon''

Charters

* Tanger Med -

(Charter to AML): '' Stena Europe'' *

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

- Rades (Charter to CMA CGM): ''Stena Forecaster'' *

- Genova - Rades (Stena RoRo contract): ''Stena Shipper'' *

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Palma De Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

(Charter to Balearia): ''Kerry'' *

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

- St Helier, Jersey (Charter to DFDS): '' Stena Vinga''

Under Construction / Conversion

* On return journey from conversion in

Weihai Weihai ( zh, t=, p=Wēihǎi), formerly Weihaiwei ( zh, s=, p=Wēihǎiwèi, l=Mighty Sea Fort, first=t), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport city in the easternmost Shandong province of China. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow ...

, China (26 March - 5 June 2025) having gone via Las Palmas,

Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

: ''Stena Foreteller'' * Under construction in

, China (Launched 21 October 2024, sea trials commenced week of 26 May 2025): ''Stena Futura'' * Under construction in

, China (Launched 24 February 2024): ''Stena Connecta''

Fleet

Current ships

Future fleet

On 10 May 2023, Stena has announced that they had ordered two NewMax freight hybrid freight vessels for the Belfast to Heysham route. They are due to begin service in Autumn 2025, giving an 80% boost in capacity to the current ships at long with 2,800 lane meters. The NewMax vessels will be methanol powered and have built in electrification including for shore power and battery propulsion.

Gallery

Image:Stena Traveller.JPG, ''Stena Traveller'' at the Hook of Holland Image:Stena Traveller 2.JPG, ''Stena Traveller'' at the Hook of Holland

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Stena Line
– Corporate site
Stena Line Reservations
– UK online ticket reservations and home pages
Stena Line Reservations
– Swedish online ticket reservations and home pages
Stena Line Reservations
– Czech online ticket reservations and home pages
Stena Line Reservations
– Dutch online ticket reservations and home pages {{Authority control Ferry companies of Sweden Ferry companies of England Ferry companies of Scotland Ferry companies of Wales Ferry companies of Northern Ireland Ferry companies of the Republic of Ireland Ferry companies of the Netherlands Ferry companies of Denmark Ferry companies of Germany Ferry companies of Norway Ferry companies of Poland Companies based in Gothenburg 1962 establishments in Sweden Transport companies established in 1962 Multinational companies headquartered in Sweden Swedish brands Ro-ro shipping companies Car carrier shipping companies

History

Formation

Freight

North Sea

North America

Irish Sea

English Channel

Further expansion

Acquisitions and closures

Routes

Irish Sea

North Sea

Scandinavia

Baltic Sea

Charters

Under Construction / Conversion

Fleet

Current ships

Future fleet

Gallery

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links