China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai has delivered Stena’s LNG-powered ferry Santona which will serve French shipping firm Brittany Ferries.
The Chinese shipyard said in a statement it delivered the 214.5 meters long ferry on December 22 during an online ceremony attended by officials from Sweden’s Stena RoRo, Brittany Ferries, and classification society DNV.
According to the shipbuilder, it delivered the vessel some two months ahead of schedule.
This is the ninth E-Flexer class RoPax vessel China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai built for Stena.
Santona has a designed speed of 23 knots, a lane length of 2,705 meters, and a capacity of 1,015 passengers.
The vessel features Wartsila’s 12V46DF LNG dual-fuel main engine and meets the 1C ice class, the Chinese shipyard previously said.
It is a sister ship to LNG-powered Salamanca. Brittany Ferries took delivery of this vessel it chartered from Sweden’s Stena RoRo in November last year.
According to its website, Brittany Ferries expects Santona to start work in spring 2023.
The vessel will connect Portsmouth with Santander, the capital of Cantabria and gateway to so-called green Spain.
Both Bilbao and Santander Ports host bunkering terminals to power the two ships, supplied by Spain’s Repsol.
Repsol is already supplying LNG in Bilbao to Salamanca while the firm is building the second LNG terminal in Santander.
