Stena Line Stena Line is bringing forward the introduction of its Stena Foreteller ferry on the Rosslare-Cherbourg service to Tuesday December 22 ahead of its original date of January 4.

The freight-only Stena Foreteller will join the Stena Horizon which already operates on the route, doubling the freight capacity as well as the frequency of sailings between Ireland and the continent.

Stena Foreteller will provide an additional 3 000 lane metres of freight capacity per trip and can accommodate a mix of accompanied and unaccompanied traffic with onboard facilities for up to 12 freight drivers.

Niclas Martensson, CEO Stena Line, said: “The developments of the last few days in terms of border closures have put enormous strains on the logistics industry.

“Our Rosslare-Cherbourg service is the shortest direct crossing between Ireland and France, and I’m delighted to see that our operational team on the Irish Sea have been able to ‘fast-track’ the introduction of the Stena Foreteller, providing vital additional capacity in the run up to Christmas.

In Association with

“We are currently experiencing huge demand for our direct services to the Continent with our North Sea vessels (ex Killingholme and Harwich) being oversubscribed by a multiple of three.

“From December 22 (18:00 hrs ex Rosslare) we will provide 12 weekly crossings connecting Rosslare and Cherbourg and up to 240 sailings per week throughout the Irish Sea region, offering transport organisations and their customers the flexibility, availability and reliability they require at this time.”

Stena Line is the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea, with the biggest fleet offering the widest choice of routes including, combined passenger and freight services from Belfast to Cairnryan, Heysham and Liverpool, Dublin to Holyhead, Rosslare to Fishguard and the direct service from Rosslare to Cherbourg.

The Foreteller was built in 2001. With a deadweight of 24,688 tonnes, it is 196 metres long and almost 30 metres wide. Apart from the direct Cherbourg route to Europe, the shipping line operates combined passenger and freight services across the Irish Sea from Belfast to Cairnryan, Heysham and Liverpool, Dublin to Holyhead, and Rosslare to Fishguard.