Sealink-Holyhead: Stena Adventurer

The Stena Adventurer (II)

The Stena Adventurer and Holyhead Breakwater!. © Barry Priddis Photography

The arrival of Stena Line’s new behemoth Stena Adventurer into service on the Holyhead – Dublin Port crossing during July 2003 significantly improved Stena Line’s position on the Irish Sea.

Built by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries at a cost of £60mn the new ship has greatly improved services to both passengers and freight customers and demonstrates Stena Line’s commitment to the route, which has been overshadowed by Irish Ferries impressive Ulysses since 2001.

In fact the Stena Adventurer has increased passenger capacity on Stena’s Holyhead – Dublin Port route by 50% and the freight capacity by 70%.

The ship operates in tandem with the HSS Stena Explorer, a combination that offers customers increased flexibility and service on the Dublin Bay-Holyhead routes.

Driving onboard the Stena Adventurer is quite an experience – her vehicle decks being best described as cavernous! The ship offers some 3,400 lane metres over decks 1, 3, 5 and 7. Access is through the bow and stern on two levels, decks 5 and 3, the latter having a 15m long stern ramp and an 18m long bow ramp. A tiltable ramp also connects deck 3 with deck 5 while a fixed ramp takes vehicles to deck 1, an area with 415 lane metres.

The 211-metre vessel is three metres longer than the Ulysses and as such Stena Line is making full use of the claim that she is the ‘longest ferry ever to sail on the Irish Sea’. In fact, it was interesting to stand on board the Stena Adventurer and look down on the wheelhouse of the competitor. But while the Stena Adventurer may be longer and have a wheelhouse one deck higher, the Ulysses can still lay claim to being the largest car ferry, in terms of vehicle capacity, in the world.

The ship accommodates 1,500 passengers on decks 7, 8 and 9, offering passengers first class on-board facilities including cinema, casino, restaurants, lounges and children’s play areas. A total of 364 passenger berths are also available in 148 luxury cabins.

The Stena Adventurer’s four MAN B&W diesel engines each provide 6480 kW and provide a service speed of 22 knots. Twin KaMeWa bow thrusts are also fitted and this, together with her twin 65 degree angle Becker rudders and twin controllable pitch, high skew KaMeWa screws, make the Stena Adventurer a very manoeuvrable ship.

Berthing in Dublin is interesting. Sailing past the main ferry terminal at berth 49 the Stena Adventurer’s 211m length must complete a sharp turn to starboard to berth head north on the new Berth 51. Unfortunately the Stena Adventurer had not been in service long when she was involved in an incident at Dublin Port. The bow door and ramp of the ship were damaged against the quay wall when the cruise liner Crystal Serenity passed at speed.

Through the lens of Maritime Photographic's Gary Davies the Stena Adventurer is captured rounding Holyhead's breakwater. © Maritime Photographic

The 68,000-ton liner, owned by the Japanese NYK, was departing the port in gusty conditions while, it was alleged, speed had to be increased to maintain steerage. A spokesman for Dublin Port Company said one of its pilots was aboard the Crystal Serenity when the incident happened, but insisted that the speed of the ship was a matter for its Captain.

Berth 51 was previously home to the interim ship Stena Forwarder and before her the Stena Challenger, big ships in their own right. For the Stena Adventurer the berth had to be rebuilt and this has also provided the opportunity to construct a much needed dedicated fast craft facility, Berth 51A, just inside the main berth. The Stena Adventurer’s linkspan is the third two-tier ramp to be built in Dublin Port.