E-Flexer-class ferry

The E-Flexer is a class of Chinese-built Ro-Pax ferries ordered by Stena RoRo for European line service. Nine vessels of the class are on order, and upon delivery will be operated by Stena Line, Brittany Ferries, and DFDS Seaways. Stena Line are to take five vessels of the class, Brittany Ferries three (two of which will be powered by LNG), and a single vessel will go to DFDS. All of the vessels will be delivered to Stena RoRo with the Stena Line vessels transferred to that company and the Brittany Ferries and DFDS examples long-term chartered to those operators.
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 Liverpool, where "Stena Embla", the fourth 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 expected in 2021. She will operate out of Portsmouth, England, to Santander, Spain and Cherbourg, France. Brittany Ferries plans to take delivery of "Salamanca" in 2022, followed by "Santoña" in 2023.
The fifth ship in the series, to be operated by DFDS, will be named "Cote d'Opale". She will differ significantly from the other E-Flexer vessels as she will have 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 will be put on the Strait of Dover cross-channel service, which is a short crossing - only taking 90 minutes from Dover to Calais.
Design.
E-Flexer-class ships were designed by Stena and Deltamarin. The specification for the first six ships of the type calls for a weight of approximately and dimensions of in length, a beam of and a draft of . The car/lorry deck has a capacity of 3,100 lane meters, with additional space for roughly 120 cars, except for the ships bound for Brittany Ferries, where the car space will be utilised for other purposes. The seventh and eighth ships are specified to be long, with 3,600 lane meters of freight capacity. Passenger capacity is quoted at around 1,000 passengers, though the interior layout is tailored 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 (LNG) fuel after modifications. Brittany Ferries' second and third ("Salamanca" and "Santoña") 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.