E-FLEXER NEWBUILD FOR CANADIAN SERVICE

Delivered by CMI Jinling Weihai, Ala’Suinu has been customised to the requirements of bareboat charterer Marine Atlantic. The St John’s-based operator, which maintains connections between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, has an option to purchase the vessel after the five-year fixture.

The E-Flexer platform has been specified in 13 newbuild contracts so far, and the Marine Atlantic-assigned vessel is the 10^th completion and the shortest version to date, with a battery pack supplementing the LNG dual-fuel main machinery.

Ala’Suinu is laid out for 2,570 lane-metres of ro-ro freight and cars plus 1,000 passengers, and is to be placed on the Argentia/North Sydney run this summer, ensuring the June to September schedule linking eastern Newfoundland with Cape Breton. She will be transferred to the shorter crossing of the Cabot Strait between Port aux Basques, in southern Newfoundland, and North Sydney for the autumn, winter and spring periods.

Whereas the nine previous E-Flexers, all deployed in northwest Europe, are of either 215m or 240m length overall, the 203m of the Ala’Suinu has been dictated by access to Port aux Basques. The vessel is strengthened to 1A ice class standard, and powered by two 12-cylinder, vee-form models of the Wartsila 46DF dual-fuel type, permitting use of either LNG or marine gas oil (MGO), or potentially also biodiesel. The 27,480kW combined output and underwater lines provide for a 23-knot service speed. The adoption of a battery pack introduces a hybrid element to the powering arrangements.

The host of environmental protection initiatives reflected in the energy and operating systems are complemented by measures to reduced undersea radiated noise, for the benefit of marine life off the Canadian coast.

The November 2019 handover of the Stena Estrid marked the beginning of deliveries of E-Flexers from CMI Jinling Weihai (AVIC Weihai, as it was then), and the 13^th order was confirmed in January this year, under an agreement with western Mediterranean operator Corsica Linea. The latest addition to the newbuild series, which will be of similar dimensions and capacity to the Ala’Suinu, is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2026, and will run between Marseilles and Corsica.

The Stena Line network accounts for five of the E-Flexers now at sea, encompassing the original 3,100-lane metre and extended 3,600-lane metre versions, while one ship is on DFDS service and three are engaged by Brittany Ferries. Currently under production at the Chinese yard, the 11^th and 12^th of the series, which will be distinguished by the largest marine battery installations yet (11.3MWh), in conjunction with LNG dual-fuel main machinery, are also bound for long-term bareboat charter to Brittany Ferries.