#LastStenaHSS – Former Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead Stena HSS fast-ferry catamaran, Stena Explorer which remains laid-up at the Welsh port since withdrawal a year ago, is the sole surviving sister of three following the scrapping of another craft, writes Jehan Ashmore.
So what is the future of the Irish route? and that of the 19,000 tonnes craft which currently lies idle at her berth in the inner harbour at the Port of Holyhead. The ferry company that owns the port, notably introduced the Stena Explorer, the first of the HSS1500 series of the world’s largest fast-ferries on the Irish Sea route in 1996. She was the last HSS craft to be withdrawn in September 2014.
Afloat.ie contacted Stena as to the fate of last member of the 1500 passenger / 375 car craft in which a spokesperson said that no decision has been made on the future of the HSS at present.
Asides a return to service? wherever that might be unless scrapped, could she became a 'floating' hotel or hostel? Such examples are to be found in several Scandinavian cities and ports, particularly using former ferry tonnage. Or dare I say a restaurent with a drive in car park facility! Should any these be an viable option, there is always the issue of cost and maintenance and a suitable port?
The footage shows the craft berthed at Holyhead's custom-built link-span, from where during the best part of almost two decades of service she sailed to Dun Laoghaire in only 99 minutes! This is compared to the replaced ferry time of 3 hours and 30 minutes. This was achieved all thanks to the craft's then revolutionary General Electric gas turbines producing an impressive 40 knots! That's 74 km/h or 46mph although she was understood to be capable of 110km/h or 70mph!
As for the HSS sister which was scrapped, this was the Stena Discovery which was the final member of the fast-ferry trio. According to the latest issue of Ships Monthly, she was towed to Alliaga, the well-known Turkish shipbreaking centre in late July.
The ‘Discovery’ originally served Stena on the Harwich-Hook van Holland route in the Netherlands for a decade of service until withdrawn in 2007. This led to Stena Discovery being laid-up in Belfast where she spent more two years before sale to Venezuelan interests, arriving in La Guaira in 2009. The craft however never saw any service on the northern coast of South America.
The fate of the second HSS sister, Stena Voyager which entered Belfast-Stranraer service in 1997 remained operating until 2011. In that year the ‘Voyager’ was made redundant following the introduction of a pair of ‘Superfast’ conventional ferries were launched onto a new route, as the Scottish ferry port was switched to Cairnryan but continued to link Belfast.
Likewise of 'Discovery', the Stena Voyager spent two years laid up in Belfast until in 2013. As previously reported on Afloat.ie she she was towed to Landskrona, Sweden to be scrapped.
A subsidiary company, Stena Recycling as the title suggests, took suitable parts of the craft and made them into furniture!
