MS ''Stena Baltica'' is a

RoPax Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or ...

ferry, owned by

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...

and operates on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

between

Nynäshamn Nynäshamn is a locality and the seat of Nynäshamn Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 13,510 inhabitants in 2010. While interest in the area as a potentially useful port grew from the mid 19th Century, it was only with the opening of th ...

, Sweden and

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see #Other names, other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. The ship previously operated on the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

, between

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; Historic counties of England, historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the R ...

and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

, as ''Stena Mersey''. The ship was built in Italy by

Cantiere Navale Visentini Cantiere Navale di Visentini is a family owned Italian shipbuilder, based in Donada near Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is ...

and launched in 2005. As built, the vessel measured and could carry up to 980 passengers. The on-board cabins had space to sleep 480 passengers. There are four vehicle decks with a capacity for approximately 200 trailers. The vessels maximum speed is , but usually sails at in normal service.

History

''Stena Baltica'' was launched in December 2005 as ''Mersey Viking'', entering service with

Norse Merchant Ferries Norse Merchant Ferries was an Irish Sea ferry company that operating passenger and freight RORO services between England the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. History Norse Merchant Ferries was created in October 1999 when Cenargo, ...

later the same month. A few months later, Norse Merchant Ferries was acquired by

Norfolkline Norfolkline was a European ferry operator and logistics company owned by Maersk. It provided freight ferry services on the English channel, Irish Sea, and the North Sea; and passenger ferry services on the English channel and Irish Sea; and lo ...

. ''Mersey Viking'' received Norfolkline lettering on her red hull but retained her Norse Merchant Ferries funnel for several years. In July 2010 Norfolkline was acquired by

DFDS DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. It is the busiest shipping company of its kind in Northern Europe and one of the busiest in Europe. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literal ...

. The vessel was renamed ''Mersey Seaways'' during her refit in August 2010. Later that same year, DFDS sold its Northern Irish operations to

. In August 2011, the vessel was renamed ''Stena Mersey'' Early in 2012, ''Stena Mersey'', along with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, was given a complete interior and exterior refit and repaint at

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the ...

. ''Stena Mersey'' was replaced on the Birkenhead to Belfast route in February 2021, following the introduction of the in late January 2021. ''Stena Mersey'' is due to undergo lengthening at the Sedef Shipyard in

Tuzla, Istanbul Tuzla is a municipality of the province in Istanbul, Turkey on the Asian side of the city next to the municipality of Pendik. Tuzla is on a headland on the coast of Marmara Sea, at the eastern limit of the city. The mayor is Şadi Yazıcı ( AK ...

, with the inclusion of a midsection, renamed as ''Stena Baltica'' and then re-entering service. ''Stena Baltica'' is planned to operate on the

between

and

Route

''Stena Mersey'' operated on the Birkenhead–Belfast route with her marginally older sister ship ''Stena Lagan''. The total journey time on board the ship was 8 hours.

On board

''Stena Mersey'' carried a maximum of 720 passengers.

References

External links

Stena Line website

DFDS Seaways website

Norfolkline website

Ferry-site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stena Baltica (2005) Ferries of the United Kingdom Ferries of Northern Ireland Ferries of England 2005 ships Baltica (2005) Ships built by Cantiere Navale Visentini Ships built in Italy Transport in Merseyside