Stena Line confirms £7m Irish Sea fleet refit contract

Stena Line has confirmed that Harland & Wolff’s Belfast shipyard will be carrying out the bulk of its Irish Sea annual ferry fleet refit and maintenance programme in a £7m contract.

Each year Stena Line carries out a series of passenger facility upgrade works as well as a number of scheduled maintenance and engine works to ensure its fleet of 11 ferries on the Irish Sea are running to optimum efficiency. The Harland & Wolff refit schedule for 9 of the Irish Sea fleet will start at the end of December and will run through until early May 2017 to ensure that Stena Line’s sailing schedules are not unduly impacted.

Ian Davies, Stena Line’s Route Manager (Irish Sea South) commented: “Stena Line is pleased to award this contract to one of the UK’s most prestigious shipyards. The annual refit programme is a very important part of our ongoing ship operation and the significant investment we are making with Harland & Wolff will ensure that our Irish Sea fleet, which includes our Holyhead/Dublin, Fishguard/Rosslare and Rosslare/Cherbourg vessels, continues to make a significant contribution to Stena Line’s market leading position on the Irish Sea.”

Stuart Wilson, General Manager of Harland & Wolff’s Ship Repair Division said: “By docking their Irish Sea fleet with us on an annual basis, Stena Line’s business has become an integral part of our ship repair activities, providing valuable support not just to our company but also to the local supply chain, who provide specialist and ancillary services as part of the vessel dockings”.

Stena Line is the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea, offering the biggest fleet and the widest choice of routes from Britain to Ireland, including Liverpool and Heysham to Belfast, Cairnryan to Belfast, Holyhead to Dublin and Fishguard to Rosslare routes, a total of 224 weekly sailing options between Britain and Ireland.

NOTE TO EDITOR: For further information, please contact Lawrence Duffy of Duffy Rafferty Communications on Belfast (028) 9073 0880.