By
Rebecca Gibson |
Belfast-based shipyard Harland & Wolff shipyard has completed a £5 million (US$6.4 million) refit of all seven ferries in Stena Line’s Irish Sea North fleet.
Carried out over a four-month period, the project marked the first time that all seven passenger ferries have been dry docked sequentially and involved more than 150 specialist onsite contractors. The synchronised dry dock visits were managed by Stena Line’s Clyde-based sister company Northern Marine Ferries.
Harland & Wolff upgraded public areas onboard the ferries, and also added the company’s new ‘Connecting Europe for a Sustainable Future’ strapline in 30-foot-high green lettering on each vessel.
“Our refit programme is a key aspect of our ship management operation to ensure that our vessels operate as safely and efficiently as possible,” said Paul Grant, Stena Line’s trade director for the Irish Sea North fleet. “Apart from the range of upgrades we have made to our onboard passenger facilities, what’s particularly striking about this year’s refit is that the Stena Line fleet now carries our new company strapline emblazoned on the side of our ships...Connecting Europe for a Sustainable Future...which demonstrates our future sustainability ambitions.”
Stena Line introduced temporary relief vessels to ensure that sailing schedules and customer service levels were maintained throughout the entire refit project.