''Livia'' is a

roll-on/roll-off 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, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

(Ro/Ro) ferry soon to be operated by

StraitNZ StraitNZ, formerly Strait Shipping, is a New Zealand transport firm that operates roll-on/roll-off freight and passenger shipping across Cook Strait between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island, and trucking and logisti ...

on their

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

– Picton service. It was built in 2008, and originally named ''Norman Voyager''. In 2025, the ship was sold to

, where it is expected to enter service on its Bluebridge

Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North Island, North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, ...

service in August 2025, filling in for sister

MV Connemara MV ''Connemara'' is a RORO passenger and freight ferry currently sailing across the Cook Strait in New Zealand on StraitNZ's Bluebridge service, after being purchased from Stena RoRo. From 2007 to 2010, she was operated by Baleària, Balearia as ' ...

, and later replacing MS Strait Feronia.

''Norman Voyager''

The ship was built in 2008 by

Cantiere Navale Visentini Cantiere Navale di Visentini is a family owned Italy, Italian shipbuilder, based in Donada near Venice. The company is largest private shipbuilder in Italy. Deliveries Ferries Generation 1 / Other Generation 2 Generation 3 Gene ...

, Italy for Epic Shipping Ltd. She was chartered to

LD Lines LD Lines was a French shipping company, with both roro freight and passenger ferry operations. It was a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA), which engages in building, owning, operating, and managing vessels. LD Lines operated ferry r ...

in 2008 and named ''Norman Voyager''. She made her maiden voyage between Rosslare and

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

on 6 November 2008, when LD Lines operated a Rosslare – Le Havre service in competition with

Celtic Link Ferries Celtic Link Ferries was an Irish ferry company which used to operate a passenger and freight roll-on/roll-off service between Rosslare and Cherbourg. Celtic Link Ferries ceased operating in February 2014 with Stena Line taking over their ro ...

operating between Rosslare and

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

. In 2009 she was chartered to Celtic Link Ferries to replace the ''Diplomat'', first operating between Rosslare, Cherbourg and Portsmouth, and before switching to the Rosslare–Cherbourg route at the end of 2009. She was chartered back to LD Lines in 2011 where she was re-registered in Le Havre, and operated between

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. In December 2009 she was involved in the rescue of three fishermen following the MV ''Alam Pintar'' and FV ''Etoile des Ondes'' collision. A report stated ''"The conduct of the rescue was safe, efficient and in the best traditions of the merchant navy."'' Later in 2011 she moved to the Portsmouth – Le Havre route. In 2012 she was sold to

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish Shipping line, shipping line company and one of the world's largest ferry operators. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a ...

; from February 2013 to March 2014 she was operated by

DFDS Seaways DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions (DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) in ...

between Portsmouth and Le Havre.

''Étretat''

From 11 March 2014, ''Norman Voyager'' was chartered to

Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France, England, Ireland, Spain and the ...

, renamed ''Étretat'' (for a town in Normandy) and branded for their "économie" service. She continued to serve

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

on Tuesday to Friday. She also ran a weekly return crossing from

to Santander on Saturday/Sunday. ''Étretat'' had 13 designated pet-friendly cabins, in addition to 88 standard 4-berth inside and outside cabins, and 51 reserved lounge seats (to Le Havre) or 20 (to Santander). During winter 2014–2015, she ran a weekly return crossing from Portsmouth to

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

to cover this service, normally run by

MV Cap Finistère ''GNV Spirit'' is a cruiseferry owned by GNV ( Grandi Navi Veloci) and operated by GNV between the Tyrrhenian Sea and Spain. She was acquired in 2022 by Grandi Navi Veloci from Brittany Ferries for an undisclosed amount. SECA 2015 refit On 1 Ja ...

, which was laid up to allow the installation of extra scrubbers. She also ran a weekly freight-only service between Portsmouth and Le Havre on Friday.

''Stena Livia''

On 9 April 2021, Stena Line announced that ''Étretat'' was to become the latest addition to their Baltic Sea fleet, renamed ''Stena Livia''. In March 2025, it was announced that Bluebridge (StraitNZ) had purchased the vessel to replace the MS Strait Feronia.

References

External links

Official Stena Line Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stena Livia Ferries of the Republic of Ireland Ferries of France Ships built by Cantiere Navale Visentini Ships built in Italy 2008 ships