Stena Edda makes its maiden voyage, departing the Twelve Quays terminal in Birkenhead at 9.30pm on Monday, sailing to Belfast. Tony McDonough reports

Ferry operator Stena Line is this week introducing the first of two new fuel-efficient vessels on its Birkenhead to Belfast route in a multi-million pound investment.

Stena Edda makes its maiden voyage, departing the Twelve Quays terminal in Birkenhead at 9.30pm on Monday, sailing to Belfast. It replaces Stena Lagan which, along with sister vessel Stena Mersey, has been operating the route for several years.

Later this year, Stena Embla will join Stena Edda on the popular route to Northern Ireland, which operates twice a day every day except Mondays. Stena Mersey will be removed from the service.

In January Stena Estrid begun operating on the Dublin to Holyhead route. It represents a “nine-figure investment” and a 25-year commitment to the Swedish company’s Irish Sea operations which carry 2.6m passengers and 750,000 freight units every year.

And a joint £17m project between Stena and Peel Ports, the Twelve Quays terminal has been upgraded to accommodate the new roll-on/roll off ferries, a familiar site for people on both sides of the river.

Stena Edda offers 40% more deck capacity, 40% more cabins and 30% more fuel efficient than current vessels on the route. It will accommodate up to 1,000 passengers, 120 cars in its dedicated garage deck and 3,100 lane metres of freight.

A spokeswoman for Stena told LBN: “Described as ‘ferry travel redefined’, it is more spacious inside than vessels currently on the route with a Sky Bar and Scandinavian design providing new levels of comfort for both freight and travel guests.”

Despite the 215 metres length of the ferry, the new port infrastructure will deliver easier and faster loading and unloading for all passengers, increasing capacity and reducing turnaround times on the route.

Of the investment at Twelve Quays David Huck, managing director – group ports from Peel Ports, said: “The past two years have seen heavy investment in the infrastructure at Twelve Quays to offer enhanced berthing facilities for larger, more modern vessels, helping reduce turnaround times and open up opportunities to grow the region’s import and export offering by expanding capacity by 20%.”