Gothenburg-based Stena RoRo has made an unusual move with the purchase of secondhand ropax ferry from Japanese operator Hankyu Ferry.
The company has purchased the 13,400-gt Yamato (built 2003) for an undisclosed sum.
The Mitsubishi Shimonoseki-built Yamato can accommodate 667 passengers in its current Japanese form, while its 2,084 lane metres of ro-ro space can carry 128 cars and 229 trailers.
The passenger configuration is likely to change when the ship undergoes a major rebuilding at what Stena RoRo describes as a European shipyard.
Sources close to the company suggest the ship will be rebuilt at a shipyard in Greece.
Greek shipyards are unquestionably the most experienced yards when it comes to converting Japanese-built ferries.
Greek ferry companies are frequent buyers of secondhand Japanese tonnage, putting them through extensive refits that result in the complete transformation of functional Japanese ferries into what often become luxurious cruise ferries.
While Japanese-built ferries have been a fixture on the Greek ferry scene for decades, Stena RoRo’s purchase of the Yamato marks the first time that a European operator outside of Greece has followed this route.
“On the European market, demand is greater than availability for this type of vessel, which is why we have turned to the Asian market, primarily Japan,” explained Per Westling, Stena RoRo's chief executive.
Stena RoRo is a completely separate entity from parent Stena Group’s ferry company Stena Lines.
Stena RoRo acts as a tonnage provider to ferry operators. Its clients span the globe.
The current fleet comprises of six ro-ro vessels and four ropax ferries.
This will get a major boost in 2020 and 2021 when two 45,000-gt ropax ferries and five 40,500-gt ropaxes are delivered from Chinese shipbuilder AVIC Weihai Shipyard.
Such an extensive newbuilding programme makes the purchase of the Yamato even more unusual, although the company is sending out strong hints that the ship has been purchased for a specific long-term contract with an as-yet undisclosed European ferry company.
“This is a typical Stena RoRo project. Through adaptation and flexibility, we design and rebuild vessels to meet our customers’ specific requirements,” said StenaRoRo conversion and project manager Mikael Abrahamsson.
Hankyu Ferry only recently put the Yamato on the sales lists, and it is expected that identical sistership Tsukushi (built 2003) will be made available for sale soon.
The Japanese operator has two replacement 16,300-gt ropax ferries on order at Mitsubishi Shimonoseki scheduled for delivery in February and June 2020.
The Yamato will be delivered to StenaRoRo in early 2020 and is expected to be ready for service by the summer peak period.
