Brittany Ferries orders two “shorter” Stena E-Flexers to replace BRETAGNE and NORMANDIE

FerryToday (July 20), Brittany Ferries signed an agreement with Stena RoRo for the construction of two “shorter” E-Flexers in China that will be used on the company’s services from Portsmouth to Ouistreham and St. Malo, replacing the 1989-built BRETAGNE and the 1992-built NORMANDIE.

Brittany Ferries will charter each vessel for 10 years, with purchase options after four years. Delivery is expected at the end of 2024 and 2025 respectively.

The two new E-Flexers will have a length of 194.7m, the maximum allowable for Ouistreham and St. Malo and will feature a hybrid LNG/battery propulsion system and shore power connections.

They will have a reduced passenger capacity of 1,300 compared to the BRETAGNE (1,700) and NORMANDIE (1,800), but the freight capacity increases from the current 37 and 85 trucks to 63 and 120 respectively for the new units.

There will also be somewhat more passenger cabins for the newbuilds with 386 and 220 cabins, compared to the current 358 and 209.

The order has strong financial support from both the two French regions of Bretagne (SOMABRET) and Normandy (SOMANOR) and is reported to be in the EUR 220 million region for both ships.

Jul 20 2021