Stena Connecta, the latest purpose-built freight vessel commissioned by Stena Line for the Irish Sea, has arrived in Belfast Harbour and is due to go into commercial service on the Belfast-Heysham route on Friday, January 23.
The ship joins her sister vessel Stena Futura, which went into service on the Belfast-Heysham service in October 2025. Together, they will offer an additional 40 per cent freight capacity on the increasing popular trade route between Northern Ireland and Britain.
Stena Connecta has a length of 147 metres, a beam of 26.3 metres, a maximum draught of 5.2 metres, space for 12 passengers, and capacity for up to 2,800 lane metres of freight.
An optimised hull form meanwhile enables the ship to transport more freight per voyage compared to vessels of similar size.
Construction of Stena Futura and Stena Connecta was undertaken by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Weihai. Both vessels have been designed to accommodate wind-assist propulsion units from Norsewind, though only Stena Connecta has been fitted with these from the outset.
Stena Line said the ships are engineered for resilience, with bespoke marine technology tailored for the unique tidal and weather conditions at Heysham.