Taking wind power on board Stena Line

TAKING WIND POWER ON BOARD

Stena Line is one of the world’s largest and most successful ferry operators. Philip Yorke looks at the company’s culture concerning safety and the environment and at a philosophy that keeps it at the forefront of the ferry industry. We also take a closer look at Stena’s latest, innovative move to put wind power on board its ferries in order to reduce fuel consumption and supply sustainable energy at sea.

Stena Line was established in 1939 in Gothenburg, Sweden by Sten A Olsson who began by creating the metal trading company: Sten A Olssons Metallproduktor. Following several strategic mergers and some major acquisitions, including that of the UK operator, Sealink British Ferries, the company grew to become a major force in the ferry industry. In 2010 Stena Lines biggest reorganisation programme began with two brand-new super-ferries going into service. The investment was the biggest to date in Stena Line’s history with a total of SEK 7 billion being invested in the two new ferries and in the conversion of four of their sister ships.

Today the company operates 19 major ferry routes in Scandinavia and around the United Kingdom with connections between eight different countries. With its fleet of 35 modern vessels the company employs around 3000 people and in 2011 recorded sales of almost SEK 10 billion.

Innovation for a better world

Stena’s vision for providing added value is that customers must have the best possible experience when they choose Stena Line for their travel, holidays, relaxation or freight transport. The company’s focus is firmly on constantly improving their services by developing innovative products and services that optimise the travel experience for all. Traditionally the company has had a strong culture of innovation, with their own employees contributing thousands of ideas for everyday improvements, a great many of which have been adopted over the years.

A recent example of Stena’s innovation at work is its introduction of the world’s first installation of onboard wind power on a passenger ferry. The Stena Jutlandica, which operates on the route between Gothenburg and Fredrikshaven, has been equipped with two wind turbines at the prow, which supply energy and reduce fuel

consumption. The project is part of Stena’s energy saving programme, which currently includes some 200 such environmental improvement projects.

The turbines are mounted on four metre high masts on the prow of the ship and can generate about 23,000 kWh per year. The electricity they produce is used to power, among other things, the lighting on the Jutlandica’s car deck.

The prow-mounted turbines also help to reduce the air resistance of the vessel at sea, resulting in a reduction in fuel consumption of between 80 and 90 tonnes per year.

Stena Line’s operations in Scandinavia are already environmentally certified to ISO 14001. During recent years a significant number of environmental improvement measures have been implemented that have resulted in both lower energy and lower fuel consumption across a wide spectrum of operations.

For many years now Stena Line has set itself stringent environmental goals which have resulted in its commitment to the environment to become prevalent in all areas of its operations. The company’s key objectives are to reduce energy consumption, reduce emissions into the atmosphere, reduce emissions into water, and to increase the proportion of its waste sorted at source.

Investing in new routes and ships

Recently Stena Lines was able to announce that it had been granted full clearance by the Competition Commission to proceed with the acquisition of the DFDS sea routes from Belfast to Liverpool and from Belfast to Heysham. This important acquisition, which amounts to an investment of more than £40 million, will enable Stena Line to improve its services on the Irish Sea by offering several different alternatives for transportation between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. At the same time, the acquisition will improve service and frequency for both passengers and freight.

As part of the deal, Stena Line will also acquire four ships from DFDS which will include the chartered Lagan Seaways and Mersey Seaways on the Belfast–Liverpool route and the freight carriers, Scotia Seaways and Hibernian Seaways. This will bring the number of Stena Line routes on the Irish Sea to six, thus adding to the existing BelfastStranraer, Dublin–Holyhead, Dun LaoghaireHolyhead and Rosslare–Fishguard routes.

New concepts in safety at sea

Safety is the prime concern for all ferry operators and provides the foundation for all subsequent operational activities. At Stena Line there is no ceiling for investment in safety, and the company allocates resources pro-actively whenever the need

arises. Among the countless Stena Line safety procedures to be upgraded recently, there has been a new development in the method of lifting life rafts. Thanks to this latest innovation, life rafts can be lifted complete with the passengers on board onto a rescuing vessel in a single operation. Until now, those in distress have had to be winched aboard helicopters one person at a time.

This latest development in safety improvement was the result of close collaboration with the Swedish Sea Rescue Society. This novel concept also uses the Swedish Sea Rescue Society’s small rescue runner craft, which are designed to round up the rafts and connect them to the assisting vessel. Stena Line also works to develop and improve the competence of its officers with training programmes held in association with the MRM (Marine Resource Management Institute) and the Chalmers University of Technology. n