Stena Line Holland BV
Encyclopedia
Stena Line Holland BV is a subsidiary of Stena Line
that operates ferry routes between Harwich and Killingholme on the east coast of England
and Hoek van Holland and Europort in the Netherlands
. The head office is in Hoek van Holland
in the Netherlands. Apart from during the two world wars there has been a continuous service operating between these two countries, initially by the railway companies serving the east coast of England together with Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland
a Dutch ferry company. In 1990 Stena Line had purchased both parts and Stena Line Holland BV came into being.
(GER), wishing to compete with its rivals who were operating from the Kent
coast to France
and Belgium
, obtained the rights to provide a cargo and cattle service to Rotterdam
. After first using chartered tonnage they carried passengers with the paddle steamer Zealous 613 gt, built in 1864 on the Thames by J & W Dudgeon
. Dudgeon also supplied the 1865 built Avalon, 670 gt, which was powered by a two cylinder oscillating engine that gave a speed of 14 knots.
When the service first started, ships bound for Rotterdam had to negotiate the Brielle
Bar to enter the river Maas
with access possible only at high water
. Things improved in 1872 with the opening of the New Waterway
which by-passed the Brielle Bar. The Great Eastern paddle steamer, Richard Young, was the first seagoing vessel to use the direct link to the city.
In 1883, the Great Eastern Railway moved its English base from Harwich town to Parkeston Quay
and in 1893 moved its Dutch operations from Rotterdam to the new rail terminus at the Hook of Holland. The first vessel to call at the "Hook" was the steamer Cambridge built in 1886 of 1,194 gt.
In 1893, the GER built the twin-screw Chelmsford to open a new night service. The new terminal in the Hook was situated on the north western end of the New Waterway and this saved two hours on the passage to Rotterdam itself. The new route enabled passengers to leave London
in the evening and, after arrival in the Hook before 6 am, be in Amsterdam
at breakfast time and reach Berlin
by the end of the day.
The service quickly became popular, and GER used three ships to offer night sailings each way, every day except Saturday. By 1904, the GER had ceased operations to Rotterdam. The Dutch had their own services from Flushing, which was operated by Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland (SMZ) which was created in 1875, which ran firstly to Queenborough
near Sheerness
and then to Folkestone
.
On 1 January 1923 after the enforced re-grouping of the railway companies, the route came under the control of the London and North Eastern Railway
.
In 1926, SMZ moved its English port to Harwich providing day sailings but did not start using the Hook of Holland until after the Second World War. After both World Wars, the Hook became a major port for troop movements, these operations continuing until 1961.
Post Second World War vessels on this route included the John Brown
built Arnhem
(1946). On 1 January 1948, after the nationalising of the British railway network, the route came under the control of British Railways. In 1950, the Amsterdam
, also built by John Brown, came into service; in 1963, the elegant Avalon was built for this route. SMZ added the motor ship the Koningin Wilhelmina
in 1960.
In 1968, the two Ro-Ro passenger vessels (the British-owned St George and the Dutch-owned Koningin Juliana) came into service, the St George in July and the Koningin Juliana
in October. This fully integrated service was operated from November 1968 under the Sealink
banner with each ship leaving port by day and returning overnight.
In 1984, Sealink was bought by Sea Containers who continued to operate the British operations under the Sealink name. In 1989, SMZ was acquired by Stena Line and in 1990 Stena bought Sealink, thus for the first time, the Dutch and British operations were under the same ownership.
Since 1996, Stena Line, in conjunction with Anglia Railways
and its successors (currently National Express East Anglia) in the United Kingdom and Nederlandse Spoorwegen
, the Netherlands Railways, has been operating the integrated Dutchflyer
service (named Go-London in the Netherlands), a rail/sea link between London and Amsterdam.
In June 2006, Stena Line announced that the high-speed catamaran
ferry
Stena Discovery would be withdrawn from service on 8 January 2007. It had been carrying the majority of the passenger
traffic on the Hoek van Holland
–Harwich
route. This service was halted due to the excessive cost of operating the ship and competition from the budget airlines. The ferry consumed 180,000 litre
s of high grade fuel
daily whilst doing its four crossings at speeds of up to 45 knots, about 75 kilometres per hour.
After the Stena Discovery was removed from service on the Hoek van Holland - Harwich route, she was laid up in Belfast. In 2010 she was sold to Venezuelan interests.
To replace the Stena Discovery, Stena Line invested 100 million euro
in rebuilding the existing ferries of the route. The Ro-Pax
vessels Stena Britannica and Stena Hollandica were both lengthened and converted at the Lloyd Werft
shipyard in Bremerhaven
so that they could carry additional passengers. Both ships are now 240 metres long, the Stena Britannica being lengthened by 28 metres and the Stena Hollandica by 52 metres. The Stena Britannica returned to service on 12 March 2007 and the Stena Hollandica on 14 May 2007.
In November 2006, Stena Line ordered two new vessels to be built at Aker Yards (now STX Europe) in Germany
, to replace the Stena Britannica and Stena Hollandica. These vessels, which are now in service, are the biggest in Stena Line's fleet so far. They were delivered in May and October 2010.
On 21 May 2010 it was announced that the Stena Trader and Stena Traveller would leave on a five year charter to the Canadian company, Marine Atlantic, to sail between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Two larger vessels, the Stena Transporter and Stena Transit had already been ordered from Samsung in South Korea as replacements, but would not be ready until 2011. To cover the gap two vessels, the Finnarrow and the Coraggio, were chartered. The first of the new vessels, the Stena Transporter, took over from the Finnarrow on 1 March 2011. The second vessel, the Stena Transit, is due in October 2011.
Vessels that have operated on the Hoek van Holland to Killingholme route
. In 1987 Townsend Thoresen were taken over by P&O Ferries
who in turn sold the route in 2002 to Stena who then moved the British end of the operation to Harwich.
Stena Line
Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere, a grouping of Stena AB,...
that operates ferry routes between Harwich and Killingholme on the east coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Hoek van Holland and Europort in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The head office is in Hoek van Holland
Hoek van Holland
The Hook of Holland , also known in English as the Hook, is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is situated on the North Sea coast, on the north bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg ship canal. The town is administered by the municipality of Rotterdam as a district of that city...
in the Netherlands. Apart from during the two world wars there has been a continuous service operating between these two countries, initially by the railway companies serving the east coast of England together with Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland
Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland
Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland was a Dutch ferry operator that ran services from Hook of Holland to Harwich between 1875 and 1989.-History:The Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland was founded in 1875....
a Dutch ferry company. In 1990 Stena Line had purchased both parts and Stena Line Holland BV came into being.
Hoek van Holland - Harwich
A passenger service has operated from Harwich to Hoek van Holland since the late 19th century apart from a break during the Second World War. Until 1990, the route was operated by two companies: one British and the other Dutch; but since then, Stena Line BV has been operating this route.History of the route
In the late 19th century, the Great Eastern RailwayGreat Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
(GER), wishing to compete with its rivals who were operating from the Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
coast to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, obtained the rights to provide a cargo and cattle service to Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. After first using chartered tonnage they carried passengers with the paddle steamer Zealous 613 gt, built in 1864 on the Thames by J & W Dudgeon
J & W Dudgeon
J & W Dudgeon was a Victorian shipbuilding and engineering company based in Cubitt Town, London, founded by John and William Dudgeon.John and William Dudgeon had established the Sun Iron Works in Millwall in the 1850s, and had a reputation for advanced marine engines. In 1862 they set up as...
. Dudgeon also supplied the 1865 built Avalon, 670 gt, which was powered by a two cylinder oscillating engine that gave a speed of 14 knots.
When the service first started, ships bound for Rotterdam had to negotiate the Brielle
Brielle
Brielle , also called Den Briel is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New Maas. The municipality covers an area of 31.12 km² of which 3.63 km² is water...
Bar to enter the river Maas
Meuse River
The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
with access possible only at high water
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
. Things improved in 1872 with the opening of the New Waterway
Nieuwe Waterweg
The Nieuwe Waterweg is a ship canal in the Netherlands from het Scheur west of the town of Maassluis to the North Sea at Hook of Holland...
which by-passed the Brielle Bar. The Great Eastern paddle steamer, Richard Young, was the first seagoing vessel to use the direct link to the city.
In 1883, the Great Eastern Railway moved its English base from Harwich town to Parkeston Quay
Harwich International Port
Harwich International Port is a North Sea seaport in Essex, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Stour one mile upstream from the town of Harwich, opposite Port of Felixstowe...
and in 1893 moved its Dutch operations from Rotterdam to the new rail terminus at the Hook of Holland. The first vessel to call at the "Hook" was the steamer Cambridge built in 1886 of 1,194 gt.
In 1893, the GER built the twin-screw Chelmsford to open a new night service. The new terminal in the Hook was situated on the north western end of the New Waterway and this saved two hours on the passage to Rotterdam itself. The new route enabled passengers to leave London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the evening and, after arrival in the Hook before 6 am, be in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
at breakfast time and reach Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
by the end of the day.
The service quickly became popular, and GER used three ships to offer night sailings each way, every day except Saturday. By 1904, the GER had ceased operations to Rotterdam. The Dutch had their own services from Flushing, which was operated by Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland (SMZ) which was created in 1875, which ran firstly to Queenborough
Queenborough
Queenborough is a small town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England.Queenborough is two miles south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to The Swale where it joins the River Medway...
near Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
and then to Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
.
On 1 January 1923 after the enforced re-grouping of the railway companies, the route came under the control of the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
.
In 1926, SMZ moved its English port to Harwich providing day sailings but did not start using the Hook of Holland until after the Second World War. After both World Wars, the Hook became a major port for troop movements, these operations continuing until 1961.
Post Second World War vessels on this route included the John Brown
John Brown & Company
John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...
built Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
(1946). On 1 January 1948, after the nationalising of the British railway network, the route came under the control of British Railways. In 1950, the Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, also built by John Brown, came into service; in 1963, the elegant Avalon was built for this route. SMZ added the motor ship the Koningin Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial...
in 1960.
In 1968, the two Ro-Ro passenger vessels (the British-owned St George and the Dutch-owned Koningin Juliana) came into service, the St George in July and the Koningin Juliana
Juliana of the Netherlands
Juliana was the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 1948 and 1980. She was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry...
in October. This fully integrated service was operated from November 1968 under the Sealink
Sealink
Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland....
banner with each ship leaving port by day and returning overnight.
In 1984, Sealink was bought by Sea Containers who continued to operate the British operations under the Sealink name. In 1989, SMZ was acquired by Stena Line and in 1990 Stena bought Sealink, thus for the first time, the Dutch and British operations were under the same ownership.
Operation under Stena BV
In 1990, when Stena Line took control of the route, the Harwich to Hoek van Holland service was being operated with two passenger and one freight Ro-Ro vessels. This continued until 2 June 1997, when with the introduction of the high speed ferry Stena Discovery, the two conventional ferries were taken off the route and an additional freight ferry was introduced.Since 1996, Stena Line, in conjunction with Anglia Railways
Anglia Railways
Anglia Railways was a British train operating company, owned by GB Railways, which between 5 January 1997 and 31 March 2004 operated mainline trains out of London Liverpool Street station and a number of local rail services in East Anglia....
and its successors (currently National Express East Anglia) in the United Kingdom and Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003...
, the Netherlands Railways, has been operating the integrated Dutchflyer
Dutchflyer
Dutchflyer is the name given in the UK to an integrated passenger service between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Formerly known as Amsterdam Express, Dutchflyer is a rail/sea/rail service operated jointly by Stena Line, National Express East Anglia, and Nederlandse Spoorwegen...
service (named Go-London in the Netherlands), a rail/sea link between London and Amsterdam.
In June 2006, Stena Line announced that the high-speed catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
Stena Discovery would be withdrawn from service on 8 January 2007. It had been carrying the majority of the passenger
Passenger
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....
traffic on the Hoek van Holland
Hoek van Holland
The Hook of Holland , also known in English as the Hook, is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is situated on the North Sea coast, on the north bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg ship canal. The town is administered by the municipality of Rotterdam as a district of that city...
–Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
route. This service was halted due to the excessive cost of operating the ship and competition from the budget airlines. The ferry consumed 180,000 litre
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
s of high grade fuel
Jet fuel
Jet fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is clear to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to a standardized international specification...
daily whilst doing its four crossings at speeds of up to 45 knots, about 75 kilometres per hour.
After the Stena Discovery was removed from service on the Hoek van Holland - Harwich route, she was laid up in Belfast. In 2010 she was sold to Venezuelan interests.
To replace the Stena Discovery, Stena Line invested 100 million euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
in rebuilding the existing ferries of the route. The Ro-Pax
RORO
Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...
vessels Stena Britannica and Stena Hollandica were both lengthened and converted at the Lloyd Werft
Lloyd Werft
Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven GmbH is a dockyard in Bremerhaven, established in 1857 by Norddeutscher Lloyd. The yard employs 500 workers in an area of 260. 000 m². Ships with a draught down to 11,5 m can be accommodated.-External links:* website...
shipyard in Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
so that they could carry additional passengers. Both ships are now 240 metres long, the Stena Britannica being lengthened by 28 metres and the Stena Hollandica by 52 metres. The Stena Britannica returned to service on 12 March 2007 and the Stena Hollandica on 14 May 2007.
In November 2006, Stena Line ordered two new vessels to be built at Aker Yards (now STX Europe) in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, to replace the Stena Britannica and Stena Hollandica. These vessels, which are now in service, are the biggest in Stena Line's fleet so far. They were delivered in May and October 2010.
Ships of the Great Eastern Railway
| Ship's name |
Entered service |
Ended service |
Gross Tonnage |
Type of Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalon | 13 June 1864 | 1866 | 613 | Paddle steamer |
| Zealous | 1 August 1864 | 1887 | 613 | Paddle steamer |
| Harwich | 1864 | October 1907 | 750 | Paddle steamer |
| Rotterdam | 1864 | 1908 | 757 | Paddle steamer |
| Avalon | 1865 | Before 1906 | 670 | Paddle steamer |
| Ravensbury | 1865 | Wrecked 5 March 1870 |
621 | Paddle steamer |
| Great Yarmouth | 1866 | 1872 | 731 | Single Screw Steamer |
| Richard Young | March 1871 | 1890 | 718 | Paddle Steamer |
| Pacific | 1872 | 1887 | 712 | Paddle Steamer |
| Claud Hamilton | 14 August 1875 | 1897 | 962 | Paddle Steamer |
| Princess of Wales | 6 July 1878 | 1894 | 1098 | Paddle Steamer |
| Lady Tyler | 29 May 1880 | 1893 | 951 | Paddle Steamer |
| Adelaide | 23 July 1880 | 1896 | 927 | Paddle Steamer |
| Norwich | 24 July 1883 | 1911 | 1037 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Ipswich | 23 October 1883 | 1905 | 1037 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Cambridge | 12 February 1887 | 25 November 1912 | 1160 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Colchester | 27 February 1889 | 8 March 1916 | 1160 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Chelmsford | 31 May 1893 | June 1910 | 1635 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Berlin | 10 January 1894 | Wrecked 21 February 1907 |
1745 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Amsterdam | 9 May 1894 | December 1928 | 1745 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Vienna | 11 October 1894 | 23 March 1930 | 1753 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Dresden | 29 June 1897 | 20 January 1918 Sunk by UC 22 |
1805 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Cromer | 22 April 1902 | 30 August 1934 | 812 | Twin Screw Cargo Steamer |
| Brussels | 19 June 1902 | 23 June 1916 Captured |
1380 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Yarmouth | 1903 | 27 October 1908 Lost at sea |
806 | Twin Screw Cargo Steamer |
| Clacton | 7 February 1905 | 7 October 1914 Requisitioned |
820 | Twin Screw Cargo Steamer |
| Newmarket | August 1907 | 8 October 1914 Requisitioned |
833 | Twin Screw Cargo Steamer |
| Copenhagen | 27 January 1907 | October 1914 Requisitioned |
2570 | Triple Screw Steamer |
| Munich | 16 November 1908 | 10 May 1940 Ship Scuttled |
2410 | Triple Screw Steamer |
| St Petersburg | 7 July 1910 | 10 December 1939 Requisitioned |
2448 | Triple Screw Steamer |
| Felixstowe | April 1919 | 10 February 1951 | 892 | Single Screw Cargo Steamer |
| Frinton | 6 November 1919 | 19 July 1929 | 1361 | Single Screw Steamer |
| St George | June 1919 | 16 July 1929 | 2676 | Triple Screw Steamer |
| Antwerp | June 1920 | 1 May 1950 | 2957 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Bruges | 27 September 1920 | 9 September 1940 Requisitioned |
2949 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Malines | 17 March 1921 | 10 May 1940 | 2969 | Twin Screw Steamer |
Ships of the London and North Eastern Railway and British Railways
| Ship's name | Date entered service | Date withdrawn | Tonnage | Type of Ship |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheringham | 15 September 1926 | June 1940 | 1088 | Single Screw Steamer |
| 23 March 1946 | 25 October 1958 | |||
| Vienna | 15 July 1929 | 24 August 1939 | 4227 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| 1 August 1945 | 2 July 1960 | |||
| Prague | 1930 | 1 September 1939 | 4220 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| 14 November 1945 | 24 December 1947 | |||
| Amsterdam | 1930 | 1 September 1939 | 4218 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Arnhem | 26 May 1947 | 27 April 1968 | 4891 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Duke of York | 31 May 1948 | 19 July 1963 | 4325 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Amsterdam | 10 June 1950 | 7 November 1968 | 5092 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Avalon | 25 July 1963 | 31 August 1974 | 6584 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Seafreightliner I | 17 May 1968 | 30 July 1986 | 4043 | Twin Screw Motor Container Ship |
| Seafreightliner II | 24 June 1968 | 1 August 1986 | 4034 | Twin Screw Motor Container Ship |
| St George | 17 July 1968 | 5 June 1983 | 7356 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
| St Edmund | 19 January 1975 | 12 May 1982 | 8987 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
| Prins Oberon | 12 March 1983 | 10th June1983 | 7993 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
| St Nicholas | 10 June 1983 | 19 June 1991 | 17043 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
Ships operated by Zeeland Steamship Company (SMZ)
| Ship's name | Date entered service | Date withdrawn | Tonnage | Type of Ship |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oranje Nassau | 27 August 1945 | July 1954 | 3053 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Mecklenburg | 21 November 1945 | 25 October 1959 | 2907 | Twin Screw Steamer |
| Koningin Emma | 5 March 1948 | December 1968 | 4353 | Twin Screw Motorship |
| Prinses Beatrix | 31 May 1948 | September 1968 | 4353 | Twin Screw Motorship |
| Koningin Wilhelmina | 7 February 1960 | 1 July 1978 | 6228 | Twin Screw Motorship |
| Koningin Juliana | 17 October 1968 | 8 april 1984 | 6682 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
| Prinses Beatrix | 29 June 1978 | May 1986 | 9356 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
| Prins Oberon | 11 February 1983 | 11 March 1983 | 7993 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
| Zeeland | 1 April 1984 | 25 March 1986 | 6801 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
| Armorique | 25 March 1986 | 16 April 1986 | 5731 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
| Koningin Beatrix | 16 April 1986 | 2 June 1997 | 31189 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
| Duchess Anne | January 1989 | February 1989 | 9796 | Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship |
Ships operated by Stena Line BV
| Ship's name | Date entered service | Date withdrawn | Tonnage | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stena Britannica | 19 June 1991 | 3 March 1994 | 25,905 | Now named Stena Saga |
| Stena Seatrader | 2 May 1990 | March 2001 | 17,991 | Sold to Ventouris Ferries Ventouris Ferries Ventouris Ferries is a Greek company that operates ferry services from Italy to Greece and Albania.-Routes:Ventouris Ferries operates two routes across the Adriatic Sea.*Bari - Durres*Bari - Corfu - Igoumenitsa-Fleet:... , renamed Seatrader |
| Stena Europe | 4 March 1994 | 1 June 1997 | 14,378 | Now on the Fishguard to Rosslare route |
| Stena Searider | 2 May 1997 | October 2000 | 21,019 | |
| Stena Discovery | 2 June 1997 | 8 January 2007 | 19,638 | Sold to Venezuelan interests |
| Rosebay | 8 June 1998 | 3 October 2000 | 5,631 | Now named Translandia for Eckero Line Eckerö Line Eckerö Line is a Finnish shipping companies owned by the Åland-based Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö. Eckerö Line operates two ferries between Helsinki and Tallinn... |
| Stena Britannica | 12 October 2000 | 25 February 2003 | 29,841 | Now named Finnfellow |
| Stena Hollandica | 9 March 2001 | 8 May 2010 | 29,841 | Vessel lengthened in 2007. New tonnage 44,237 |
| Stena Britannica | 25 February 2003 | 8 October 2010 | 43,487 | Vessel lengthened in 2007. New tonnage 55,050 |
| Stena Hollandica | 16 May 2010 | Still in service | 64,039 | |
| Stena Britannica | 9 October 2010 | Still in service | 64,039 |
Hoek van Holland - Killingholme
This route was inaugurated on 8 October 2000 using two old freight RoRo ferries, the Stena Searider, built in 1969, and the Stena Seatrader, built in 1973. The success of this route encouraged a further 200 million euro investment in two replacement ferries for this service. The first vessel, the Stena Trader replaced the Stena Seatrader and commenced operating on 12 August 2006 and the second vessel, the Stena Traveller went into service on 20 June 2007 replacing the Stena Searider.On 21 May 2010 it was announced that the Stena Trader and Stena Traveller would leave on a five year charter to the Canadian company, Marine Atlantic, to sail between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Two larger vessels, the Stena Transporter and Stena Transit had already been ordered from Samsung in South Korea as replacements, but would not be ready until 2011. To cover the gap two vessels, the Finnarrow and the Coraggio, were chartered. The first of the new vessels, the Stena Transporter, took over from the Finnarrow on 1 March 2011. The second vessel, the Stena Transit, is due in October 2011.
Vessels that have operated on the Hoek van Holland to Killingholme route
| Ship's name | Date entered service | Date withdrawn | Tonnage | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosebay | 8 October 2000 | 9 March 2001 | 5631 | |
| Stena Searider | 8 October 2000 | 18 June 2007 | 20914 | |
| Stena Seatrader | 14 March 2001 | 11 August 2006 | 17991 | |
| Stena Trader | 12 August 2006 | 30 September 2010 | 26660 | |
| Stena Traveller | 20 June 2007 | 9 December 2010 | 26660 | |
| Corragio | 30 September 2010 | 6 November 2011 | 24950 | |
| Finnarrow | 9 December 2010 | 28 February 2011 | 25996 | |
| Stena Transporter | 1 March 2011 | Still in service | 33690 | |
| Stena Transit | 7 November 2011 | Still in service | 33690 |
Rotterdam (Europoort) - Harwich
This route is descended from the Felixstowe to Europort route that was operated by Townsend ThoresenEuropean Ferries
European Ferries Group Plc was a company that operated in passenger and freight ferries, harbour operation and property management in the United Kingdom and the United States...
. In 1987 Townsend Thoresen were taken over by P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...
who in turn sold the route in 2002 to Stena who then moved the British end of the operation to Harwich.