Stena celebrates first anniversary of Stena Hibernia
05/12/2014
Stena Line is celebrating the first anniversary of the Stena Hibernia on its Liverpool (Birkenhead) to Belfast route and one year on, the service continues to deliver a strong performance which has helped the leading ferry company increase its freight traffic.
Richard Horswill, Stena Line’s Head of Freight UK and Ireland said: “Stena Line introduced the Stena Hibernia in November 2013 to complement the Stena Lagan and Stena Mersey to help cope with increased demand for freight capacity on this route and enable our customers to deliver on next-day orders to their client base.
"We are thrilled by the response to the service over the last twelve months and have received excellent feedback from customers. The introduction of the Stena Hibernia demonstrated our commitment to the freight market and we have worked with our customers to develop the service to suit their needs and in doing so, earlier this year we altered the timetable so that the first sailing of the week left Belfast at 15.00hrs on a Monday instead of 03.00hrs on a Tuesday from Liverpool – as we identified Monday afternoon as a key sailing time for our customers.
“We believe the success in this service has in turn helped to drive freight growth and position the Port of Liverpool ( Birkenhead) and the Port of Belfast as significant hubs which will both continue to thrive over the coming months and years,” Richard added.
Ross Thompson, Group Sales Director for Peel Ports said: “We are delighted with the Belfast Liverpool service, having delivered consistent and sustainable business growth over the last 12 months. The future outlook is really positive with Liverpool close to hitting the three quarter million ro ro units landmark by the end of the year, which is testament to our commitment to the sector and our partners.”
Joe O’Neill, Belfast Harbour’s Commercial Director, said: “Belfast Harbour and Stena Line have developed an excellent partnership over the past two decades and both organisations have invested heavily to ensure that our customers have access to the best facilities, services and ships on the Irish Sea. Stena Hibernia is the latest example of Stena’s commitment to Northern Ireland and its introduction has already generated a noticeable uplift in freight passing through Belfast.”
The Stena Hibernia, which has capacity for 12 drivers and 110 unaccompanied units representing an additional 1,680 lane metre capacity, operates eight sailings per week, giving freight customers greater availability and choice.
