News / Stena Line and Peel sign 77-year deal for port of Heysham

Irish Sea ferry operator Stena Line has signed an eye-popping 77-year deal to operate from Heysham until the end of the century with the port’s owner, Peel Ports.

The deal is part of Stena’s programme of major investment in its UK-Northern Ireland operations, and follows February’s extension to its lease at Liverpool’s 12 Quay terminal in Birkenhead for the same period and the decision to build two new freight-only ro-ro ‘NewMax’ vessels to operate its Heysham-Belfast route.

“This agreement reinforces our long-term commitment to Peel Ports Group and further strengthens our partnership,” said Stena Line’s chief operating officer ports & terminals, Carl-Johan Hellner (above, left).

“Heysham is an important hub for our Irish Sea business and we’ve been developing our operations here year on year. We’re excited for the future of the route and about building on its current success.”

David Huck (above, right), chief operating officer of Peel Ports Group, added: “This deal reaffirms our promise to continue developing and maintaining services across the Irish Sea, while also showcasing our ongoing investment into our Heysham operation. We’re confident the route will continue to prove hugely successful for many decades to come.”

Under the deal, the port group and ferry operator will collaboratively invest in new terminal management and a ‘smart gate’ automatic check-in system, and will increase parking for trailers to accommodate the additional capacity of the ‘NewMax’ vessels.

There is an additional commitment o develop shore-side electricity, “to facilitate the future goal of powering the new ships by green shore power. This will be a further step in a long-term ambition to establish a green shipping corridor”.

Stena Line CEO Niclas Martensson added: “With the upcoming introduction of our NewMax hybrid ships, this route represents a unique opportunity for Stena Line to offer our freight customers more sustainable transport between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and will be a key milestone in our sustainability journey.”

In May, construction of the NewMax vessels began at Chinese shipbuilding hub Weihei. The 147-metre vessels will provide 2,800 lane metres of capacity, representing an 80% increase on the capacity of the 1996-built sisters Stena Scotia and Stena Hibernia, which are expected to be retired when the new vessels arrive in autumn 2025.

The ‘NewMax’ vessels will be able to operate on methanol fuel, and have been specifically designed for the tidal conditions at Heysham.

The ro-ro network on the Irish Sea is undergoing a transformation: the August announcement from P&O Ferries that it would axe its Liverpool-Dublin service at the end of 2024 was what one analyst called “an organised retreat”.

It was followed last week by Stena’s announcement of a new freight-only service between 12 Quays and Dublin, set to launch in February, which could fill the breach vacated by P&O Ferries, bringing the Swedish operator’s network of Irish services to seven.