Stena Line Holland BV
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Stena Line Holland BV is the Dutch Stena Line subsidiary operating all Stena Line's route to and from the Netherlands.
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[edit] Hoek van Holland - Harwich
A passenger service has operated from Harwich to Hoek van Holland since the late 19th Century apart from a break during the Second World War. In 1903 the British end of the route moved from Harwich to Parkeston Quay. Up until 1990 the service was a joint British/Dutch operation, however in 1989 Stena bought the Dutch part, Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland N.V. (SMZ) and the following year, after the purchase of Sealink British Ferries, Stena Line gained control of the whole route.
Since 1996 Stena Line, in conjunction with Anglia Railways and its successors (currently National Express East Anglia) in the United Kingdom and Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the Netherlands Railways, has operated the integrated Dutchflyer service (named Go-London in the Netherlands), a rail/sea link between London and Amsterdam.
In June 2006 Stena Line announced the termination of the high-speed service with the catamaran ferry Stena Discovery from 8 January 2007. It had been carrying the majority of the passenger traffic on the Hoek van Holland–Harwich route. This service was halted due to the excessive cost of operating the ship and competition from the budget airlines[1]. The ferry consumed 180,000 litres of high grade fuel daily whilst doing its four crossings at speeds of up to 45 knots, about 75 kilometres per hour. Damage to the aluminium vessel on the frequently rough North Sea could also have been a contributing factor.
After the Stena Discovery stopped service on the Hoek van Holland - Harwich route she was laid up in Belfast. For the time being it will replace its sister ferries that sail between Ireland and Great Britain while these are being dry-docked. Reportedly the Stena Discovery is up for sale with a price of 50 million euro.
To replace the Stena Discovery Stena Line invested 100 million euro in rebuilding the existing ferries of the route. The Ro-Pax vessels Stena Britannica and Stena Hollandica were both lengthened and converted at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven so that they are able to carry additional passengers. Both ships are now 240 metres long, the Stena Britannica being lengthened by 28 metres and the Stena Hollandica by 52 metres. The Stena Britannica returned to service on 12th March 2007 and the Stena Hollandica on 14th May 2007.
In November 2006 Stena Line ordered two new vessels to be built at Aker Yards in Germany, these vessels will be the biggest in their fleet so far. [2]. Stena Line has yet to decide which route these vessels will be employed on but it will be either Karlskrona - Gdynia or Hoek van Holland - Harwich. In the latter case the Stena Hollandica and the Stena Brittanica would then be employed on the Karlskrona - Gdynia route. Whichever decision is taken the Stena Baltica (ex. Koningin Beatrix) and the Stena Nordica will be replaced. The decision on which route will be chosen depends on the development in growth of the two routes. Whether Stena Baltica and Stena Nordica will be employed elsewhere within Stena Line has yet to be decided.
[edit] Hoek van Holland - Killingholme
This route was inaugurated in October 2000 using two old freight RoRo ferries, the Stena Searider, built in 1969, and the Stena Seatrader, built in 1973. The success of this route has encouraged a further 200 million euro investment in two new, replacement, ferries for this service. The first vessel, the Stena Trader, which replaced the Stena Seatrader, commenced operating on September 5, 2006 and the second vessel, the Stena Traveller went into service on 20th June 2007 replacing the Stena Searider.
[edit] Rotterdam (Europoort) - Harwich
This route is descended from the Felixstowe to Europort route that was operated by Townsend Thoresen. In 1987 Townsend Thoresen were taken over by P&O Ferries who in turn sold the route in 2002 to Stena who then moved the British end of the operation to Harwich.
[edit] References
- ^ Sunday Mirror Fast ferry axed
- ^ Aker Yards To build the world's largest ferries for Stena
