Stena Line’s largest ferry in the Port of Gdynia

On Monday, 29 August at 10.30am, a trial mooring of the new E-Flexer class ferry named Stena Estelle took place at the Public Ferry Terminal. The tests carried out were successful, confirming that the port infrastructure has been done properly. The Stena Estelle is 240 m long and is about 60 m longer than the ferries currently operating on the Gdynia-Karlskrona route. The first scheduled sailing of the new ferry will take place on 04.09.2022 at 21:00.

The new ferry sailed through the entrance to the Port of Gdynia at around 10:20, then turned around on the turntable at the level of the Public Ferry Terminal and arrived at the Polskie Quay. The operation of the first trial mooring took place under the supervision of specialists, employees and representatives of the Port of Gdynia Authority and Steny Line. After mooring, the flaps of both the upper and lower holds were opened and the first vehicles were driven onto the ferry via a ramp. The passenger sleeve was also brought in.

The introduction of much larger vessels was made possible by the transfer of Stena Line’s operations to the new Public Ferry Terminal in the Port of Gdynia. The new terminal has a much longer quay than the previous one, which made it possible to berth vessels as long as 240 metres, such as E-Flexer class vessels.

Stena Line is introducing two E-Flexer-class ro-pax ferries on the route between Gdynia and Karlskrona, Sweden, in response to increased demand for Baltic Sea traffic.

The Stena Estelle, together with its twin ship Stena Ebba which will be handed over to the operator later in the year, is the largest E-Flexer yet built. The ferry offers 263 cabins, space for 1,200 passengers and a cargo capacity of 3,600 metres. Like all E-Flexer vessels, the Stena Ebba and Stena Estelle have an optimised hull, propeller and rudder design for increased efficiency. They are also vessels that can be adapted to run on alternative fuels in the future.

The new terminal also enables the implementation of Stena Line’s modern and environmentally friendly ideas to improve port operations, such as the Smart Gate, a state-of-the-art solution to automate trailer pick-up.

The terminal’s new location on Polska Street is also favourable to travellers, as it provides a connection to the most important local and national roads that form an important part of the transport corridor for international trade. The terminal’s location also has other benefits, due to the reduction in the time it takes for vessels to navigate through the port. Time savings and improved transport accessibility are significant aspects of the logistics chain that will ultimately contribute to the port’s competitiveness. The favourable location, closer to the entrance heads of the inner harbour, will significantly facilitate the manoeuvring of the 240-metre-long ferries. There will also be a reduction in the time associated with a vessel’s port call, calculated from the start of mooring to the vessel’s departure from the port. The total manoeuvring time will not exceed 120 minutes.

An important aspect of the new terminal will be the possibility of powering the ferries while at berth, which is in line with the Green Port concept. Such a solution completely excludes emissions during berthing, which is all the more important for a port located in a city. OPS (onshore power supply), or cold ironing, is a system designed to supply electricity to a ship from shore while it is in port. Supplying ships with electricity while they are in port has a very positive impact on the environment by: reducing noise levels in the harbour, almost completely reducing noise and vibration on the ship by switching off the engines, extending the life of the auxiliary engines on the ship. The modern installation raises the standard of ship handling and allows the connection of ships berthing at the quay to be realised on the basis of modern infrastructure.