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Freight Ship Begins Service on Stena Line's Dublin – Liverpool Route Boosting Capacity by 30%

15th April 2024
MV Bore Song began its charter to Stena Line on the Dublin-Liverpool (Birkenhead) route, the Ireland-UK link that the company opened two months ago today. The 195-metre ro-ro vessel is seen berthed at the 12 Quays Terminal, Birkenhead, before it yesterday made its maiden crossing.
MV Bore Song began its charter to Stena Line on the Dublin-Liverpool (Birkenhead) route, the Ireland-UK link that the company opened two months ago today. The 195-metre ro-ro vessel is seen berthed at the 12 Quays Terminal, Birkenhead, before it yesterday made its maiden crossing.

Stena Line has introduced a larger (chartered) ro-ro freight ferry, Bore Song, on the Dublin – Liverpool (Birkenhead) route, which will increase capacity on the Ireland-England route by 30%.

The Dublin-Liverpool dedicated freight service has been operational since 15th February with cover ships (Stena's Horizon/Nordica) serving customers temporarily whilst the company searched for a longer-term solution.

Bore Song entered service on the route last night (14 April) on the 18:00hrs sailing from 12 Quays in Birkenhead (see photo above). With capacity for almost 3,000 lane metres of freight, the ship provides significantly more space and is well suited for the demand for unaccompanied freight on this route.

With the addition of the new vessel to the Irish Sea fleet, Stena Line will now restore capacity on the Rosslare – Fishguard and Rosslare – Cherbourg routes.

Paul Grant, Trade Director Irish Sea, Stena Line said, “Bore Song is a welcome addition to our Stena Line fleet and will secure our capacity on our new unaccompanied freight route between Dublin and Birkenhead. Our ships and our teams onboard have been flexible with covering the route whilst we searched for a longer-term solution, and we’re delighted to have secured the vessel to boost our freight capacity and better serve our customers on a key trading route between Ireland and Britain.”

The Swedish company is the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea, with the biggest fleet providing up to 248 weekly sailings offering the widest choice of routes including combined passenger and freight services from Belfast to Cairnryan; Belfast to Liverpool; Dublin to Holyhead; Rosslare to Fishguard and Rosslare to Cherbourg.

The company also runs a dedicated freight only route from Belfast to Heysham, in addition to the new Dublin – Liverpool service.

Published in Stena Line
Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals. 

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About Stena Line

Stena Line is one of Europe's leading ferry companies with 37 vessels and 17 routes in Northern Europe operating 25,000 sailings each year. Stena Line is an important part of the European logistics network and develops new intermodal freight solutions by combining transport by rail, road and sea. Stena Line also plays an important role for tourism in Europe with its extensive passenger operations. The company is family-owned, was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Gothenburg. Stena Line has 4,300 employees and an annual turnover of 14 billion SEK.