FERRY passengers travelling from Belfast with Stena Line will soon be able to kick back and relax on four new "fuel-efficient" vessels currently being built in China.
Stena said the four new RoPax ferries would be based on the Irish Sea in line with plans to expand the local hub, and they will be the largest ferries ever to operate between Belfast and Britain.
Last year, the company announced a new-build contract of four RoPax vessels, with a planned delivery schedule during 2019 and 2020 – with an option for another four orders.
The extra four are now being built at the AVIC Shipyard in China, with the plan to locate the vessels on the Irish Sea as part of Stena's development plan for the region.
"The routes to and from Belfast are strategically very important to Stena Line, and during the last number of years we have made significant investments in ports and vessels to improve and develop our capacity," Stena Line chief executive Niclas Mårtensson said.
"Looking ahead, we intend to continue our ambitious development plan for our business in the region and the new vessels are a part of this strategic plan.
"During the last few years we have seen a steady growth in freight and passenger volumes and we believe this will continue. Last year was a record year for us when we for the first time carried over 500,000 freight units through Belfast Port."
The new vessels will boast around 25 per cent lower Co2 emissions per cargo unit than current RoPax tonnage.
Joe O’Neill, commercial director at Belfast Harbour, welcomed the "significant investment" and said they would be an enhancement of Northern Ireland’s "premier freight and tourism gateway".
