The Stena RoRo-owned STENA FORETELLER is about to finish her spell with NMT Shipping and will be chartered by Stena Line to supplement the 2,285-lanemetre Visentini Class ro-pax ferry STENA HORIZON, the mainstay on Stena Line's Cherbourg-Rosslare route, increasing the frequency from three to six weekly return sailings.

In conjunction with the announcement of the increased frequency and capacity, Niclas Mårtensson, CEO of Stena Line, said: "We have been listening carefully to feedback from our customers and it has become clear that there is demand for increased frequency on the Rosslare-Cherbourg service, the shortest direct crossing between Ireland and France.

"One of Stena Line's key strengths is our ability to utilise our fleet and be flexible and responsive to market opportunities and changes. On the Irish Sea, we are very well positioned to cover the requirements of the freight and logistics sector with a choice of six routes serving Britain and Europe via land bridge or our direct crossings to France."

Two weeks ago, DFDS announced a new six times weekly direct service between Dunkerque and Rosslare, starting on 2 January. Other operators with direct connections between France and Ireland are Irish Ferries and Brittany Ferries, whilst CLdN operates a dedicated ro-ro service from its Zeebrugge hub to both Cork and Dublin. CLdN also serves the latter port from Rotterdam. Shippers that want to bypass the land bridge can equally choose from a variety of lo-lo services that connect the Continent with Ireland.

© Shippax / PHO / PR