New Zealand's StraitNZ Bluebridge will expand capacity on its Cook Strait Service, announcing that Stena Line's Stena Livia will be sailing in the Bluebridge fleet from August this year.
Currently operating between Germany and Latvia, Stena Livia is a sister ship to Bluebridge's vessel Connemara and will provide a 10 per cent increase in vehicle capacity.
The ship will dry dock in Europe before setting sail to New Zealand and will replace the Strait Feronia towards the end of the year.
StraitNZ Bluebridge has delivered services across the Cook Strait link between New Zealand's north and south islands since 1992.
Stena Livia was built in 2008 by Cantiere Navale Visentini in Italy. Measuring 186.5 metres in length and 25.6 meters in beam, it has a gross tonnage of 26,904 tonnes.
She has a passenger capacity of 880 and a car capacity of 200, with freight capacity of 2,255 lane metres. Powered by two MAN B&W 9L48/60B engines, the ship achieves a speed of 21.5 knots.