In the end of July, the ship Stena Foreteller will return to service on the Europoort/Rotterdam – Immingham route following a major rebuild and renovation. With a new additional cargo deck and a 30 percent increase in capacity, the vessel becomes more efficient and further reduces CO₂ emissions per cargo unit.

Stena RoRo has led the reconstruction of the Stena Line vessel at the Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling in Weihai. The RoRo vessel Stena Foreteller has been fitted with a fourth vehicle deck on top of the existing three, increasing the number of lane meters from 3,000 to 4,000.

“The rebuild of the Stena Foreteller is another step among many we are taking to reach our goal of reducing our CO₂ emissions by 30 percent by 2030. We are working on many fronts, where the improvement of existing vessels and the development of new ones are equally important,” says Dennis Tetzlaff, Chief Operating Officer Fleet at Stena Line.

The vessel has also been equipped with a shore power connection system, which will reduce CO₂ emissions while in port. Due to the additional deck, the wind exposed area has increased, placing greater demands on the vessel’s maneuverability and mooring. As a result, the bow thrusters have been upgraded for increased capacity, and additional mooring winches have been installed. Furthermore, minor repairs and preventive maintenance have been carried out, and some onboard systems have been upgraded to newer versions. As part of the rebuild, Stena Line has also repainted the vessel.

Stena Forerunner, the sister ship of Stena Foreteller, will undergo the same rebuild starting at the end of the summer.

“This is a typical Stena RoRo project, where we leverage our extensive experience to rebuild vessels according to the customer’s wishes and needs. Rebuilding vessels with a long history in a foreign country is always technically and culturally challenging, but it is balanced out by competent, experienced staff and strong cooperation,” comments Mikael Abrahamsson, Manager – Conversions & Projects at Stena RoRo.

At the CMI Jinling shipyard, two new New Max vessels for Stena Line – Stena Futura and Stena Connecta – are currently being completed. They are scheduled for delivery in the fall and will operate the Belfast – Heysham route in the Irish Sea. The two hybrid vessels play an important role in Stena Line’s efforts to reduce emissions, as both will be able to run on methanol fuel. They are also equipped with technology that supports both battery propulsion and shore power connection.

Vessel data after refit, Stena Foreteller and Stena Forerunner

• Length                          195.3 m
• Draught                        7.2 m
• Beam                           25.6 m
• Lane meters                4,000
• The Stena Foreteller was built in 2002 at the Dalian Shipyard in China.