E-Flexer-class ferry
The E-Flexer is a class of Chinese-built Ro-Pax ferries ordered by Stena RoRo for European line service. There are twelve vessels that have been built; they are operated by Stena Line, Brittany Ferries, DFDS Seaways and Marine Atlantic. There are three vessels on order and upon delivery, they will be operated by Corsica Linea and Attica Group. Stena Line took five vessels of the class, Brittany Ferries five, and a single vessel each to DFDS and Marine Atlantic, of which the latter's vessel is also hybrid electric. All of the vessels were delivered to Stena RoRo with the Stena Line vessels transferred to that company and the Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Marine Atlantic examples long-term chartered to those operators, with an option to purchase at the end of the charter.
History
Following about two years of design work, Stena ordered the first four vessels of the class from Chinese shipbuilder AVIC Weihai in April 2016, with options for four more ships. Stena originally planned to utilize the four ferries on Irish Sea services out of Belfast, but later agreed to charter the third ship in the series to Brittany Ferries. In February 2018, the keel was laid for the first ship, with her delivery scheduled for early 2020. Stena RoRo ordered a fifth ship in April 2018, which will enter service with DFDS Seaways on a ten-year charter upon delivery. The following month, Stena RoRo ordered a sixth ship, to be placed with Brittany Ferries on a ten-year charter beginning in late 2021. Construction on the second ship in the class began in June 2018. In July, Stena Line ordered two more ships, accounting for all the options in the original 2016 order, while Stena RoRo announced that it had agreed to take new options for four more vessels.Service
The first ship in the class, named Stena Estrid, was launched in January 2019 and was delivered in China on 15 November. On arrival in Holyhead, faulty seals on over 20 windows were discovered. Repairs were carried out prior to her maiden voyage, which took place on 13 January 2020. She is regularly operated on Stena's route between Holyhead and Dublin.Stena Edda, the second E-flexer earmarked for Stena Line's fleet, was delivered to Stena RoRo on 15 January 2020. Following bunkering in Singapore and Gibraltar, and an outside port limits call at Galle, the crew travelling from Weihai were also checked by local authorities for coronavirus infection, with no evidence of the disease being present. She entered service on Stena's route between Belfast and Birkenhead, where Stena Embla, the third ship of the series, is planned to operate upon her delivery in early 2021.
Galicia was delivered on 3 September 2020, with her entry into service in 2021. She operates out of Portsmouth, England, to Santander, Spain and Cherbourg, France. Brittany Ferries took delivery of Salamanca in 2022, followed by Santoña in 2023. On 20 July 2021, Brittany Ferries announced that 2 more E-Flexer ships are due to enter service between 2024 and 2025, replacing Bretagne and Normandie. These two vessels, named Saint Malo and Guillaume De Normandie will be shortened to about in order to comply with St. Malo port restrictions, are due to operate between Portsmouth and St. Malo and Portsmouth and Caen/Ouistreham. These will be ships 11 and 12.
The fifth ship in the series, operated by DFDS, is called Côte d'Opale. She differs significantly from the other E-Flexer vessels as she has additional public spaces in areas where passenger cabins are located on the Stena Line and Brittany Ferries ships. The drastic changes from the rest of the E-Flexer class come about from the fact that she is running on the Dover-Calais cross-channel service, which is a short crossing - only taking 90 minutes from Dover to Calais.
On 4 August 2021, the Côte d'Opale entered service, replacing DFDS's older 1991 Boelwerf-built Calais Seaways.
The day after Brittany Ferries ordered two additional E-Flexers, Marine Atlantic ordered an E-Flexer. This vessel will be slightly shorter than the standard E-Flexer at and will run on Marine Atlantic's two routes, connecting the North Sydney-Port aux Basques-Argentia triangle.
In mid-2024 two other ferries, intended for Attica Group, were ordered for delivery in 2027.
Design
E-Flexer-class ships were designed by Stena and Deltamarin, and built in China by China Merchants Shipyards. The basic concept of the E-Flexer follows a standardised design using one full passenger deck, two mixed use decks, and two full-length garages for road traffic, plus a smaller garage in the ship's lower hull. Ships of the class are powered by two engines instead of four, which is said to reduce fuel consumption alongside a specialised hull design. The standard design is long by wide, however the design can be lengthened and shortened, and the interior can be tailored according to the operator's needs.The first five ships to be built are each powered by two MaK M43C diesel engines, with a total power output of, driving two propellers that give the ships a service speed of. Those engines are designed to be compatible with liquefied natural gas fuel after modifications. Brittany Ferries' second and third ships will be modified to be capable of running on LNG from delivery, though both will have reduced freight capacity as a result of the space occupied by their LNG tanks. All of the E-Flexer ships ordered to date will be ice-classed, either to 1A or 1C requirements.