Stena Line is to increase freight capacity on its Holyhead to Dublin route with the introduction of an additional vessel. The company will redeploy current ferry Stena Seatrader from its North Sea fleet, commencing operations on the Central Corridor in July.

The boats, which are 4.9m wide and draw 1.6m without bunkers, displace 39m

3

and have a top speed of 14 knots. A police reference list made available to

MJ

indicated that few, if any, other boats of this length had been built for the police in previous years. The nearest appeared to be the 17.98m long WS 24 in 1961.

Holyhead Port has grown in importance for freight customers to Ireland since the opening of the A55 dual carriageway in 2001 reduced journey times to the port and enabled freight growth to soar by 100%. Stena Line's total freight volumes grew by 8% last year, with the company's five Irish Sea routes enjoying growth of 16%. Holyhead to Dublin routes saw the biggest increase.

MJ Information No: 21824

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