Sweden’s Stena RoRo is boosting its orderbook for its E-Flexer ropax series being built at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Jinling Weihai) by another three vessels.

The company has declared an option for an ice-class, dual-fuel ropax vessel at the yard to be delivered in 2024 against a charter to Marine Atlantic of Canada, and two more options are set to be declared on the back of a two-ship charter deal announced by French ropax operator Brittany Ferries on Wednesday.

The vessel just ordered for Marine Atlantic is the tenth in the ropax tonnage providers' popular E-Flexer series to be ordered at the Chinese yard, and has been ordered against a five-year charter contract that includes a purchase option at the end.

"Marine Atlantic is a former customer of ours," said Per Westling, Stena RoRo's managing director. "We delivered one ferry in 2000 and two more in 2010 to Marine Atlantic, all of which are still in service. We were successful in executing this new charter contract after a very competitive and extensive procurement process.”

Marine Atlantic said the vessel was expected to enter service during its 2024-25 fiscal year and will be deployed on the ferry operator's main routes linking the eastern Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

The 2,571-lane-metre ropax will feature accommodation for 1,100 passengers.

“Marine Atlantic is an essential service that is vital to the national supply chain,” said Marine Atlantic chairman Gary O’Brien.

"The design of the vessel combines key priorities such as maneuverability, safety, accessibility, while minimising environmental impacts, to provide our customers with a modern, efficient and reliable service,” O’Brien added.

Hybrids for Brittany Ferries

The two ropax newbuildings Brittany Ferries has agreed to charter from Stena RoRo will be 20 metres shorter than previous vessels built to the Swedish company's E-Flexer design. The hybrid LNG and battery-powered vessels will also be built at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard. Photo: Brittany Ferries

The E-Flexer ropax series is based on a hull platform jointly designed by Stena RoRo and Deltamarin, although the final general arrangement plan is determined by the requirements of the charterer.

The final designs of the ships for these customers have ranged from high-capacity day ferries, to vessels kitted out with substantial overnight accommodation and cruise-like facilities.

Some have even been ordered as pure freight carriers with no passenger accommodation.

Westling said the company focused on adapting ship designs to meet customers' needs.

Commenting specifically on the Marine Atlantic order, Westling said the E-Flexer platform was “very well suited, as it meets the customer's requirements for an optimal hull form combined with efficient dual-fuel engines and a battery-hybrid solution to minimise emissions”.

The newbuilding will be fitted with type-C tanks and will mainly be powered by LNG.

On Tuesday, French ropax operator Brittany Ferries revealed it had signed an agreement to charter two more E-Flexer newbuildings from Stena RoRo.

These vessels will feature a similar hybrid LNG and battery power system to the Marine Atlantic vessel, and they will be ready to plug in to shore-side power to recharge batteries and recharge systems when this is available at ports.

Brittany Ferries will charter the ropaxes from Stena RoRo on a 10-year agreement, with a purchase option after four years.

They will replace two older ropaxes in the company's fleet when they are delivered in 2024 and 2025.

“Fleet renewal is not a choice for Brittany Ferries; it is an imperative to secure our future,” said Christophe Mathieu, Brittany Ferries' chief executive.

“Our customers rightly demand cleaner, greener vessels and our port partners expect us to be good neighbours. Furthermore, we will certainly face tighter regulation in the years ahead. The future of our company depends upon our ability to rise to the challenge today, to prepare for tomorrow," he added.

Highlighting the flexibility of the E-Flexer design, these two ropaxes, with length of 194 metres, will be slightly shorter than the three 214-metre E-Flexers Brittany has chartered from Stena RoRo.

The reduced length is required for them to be able to operate out of the port of St Malo.

Brittany Ferries said each is being designed to suit the route on which it will operate, taking account of future trends in both passenger and freight traffic.

Stena RoRo's total E-Flexer order tally currently stands at 10 vessels, five of which have already been delivered. The new Brittany Ferries ships will come from the stockpile of options for additional vessels it holds at Jinling Weihai.

Other previous orders were signed on the backs of charters to European ferry operators Stena Line and DFDS.