The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has outlined the events that caused a Stena Line ferry collision with a jetty at the Port of Holyhead, Wales, during a normal berthing maneuver, reports The Maritime Executive.
The incident, which took place in January 2026, caused massive flooding and endangered 157 passengers and crew aboard the E-Flexer class ro-pax Stena Estrid.
The 41,600 gross tonnage passenger and vehicle ferry, Stena Estrid, suffered significant flooding after the ro-pax had made contact with the jetty at the UK's second-busiest passenger ferry port.
It was on 7 January when the serious marine incident occurred while the Stena Estrid, inbound from Dublin Port on a regular crossing, was berthing at the Welsh port’s Terminal 3 (T3). The Cypriot-flagged, Limassol-registered 215-metre (705-foot) ferry, built in 2019, was on a scheduled sailing with 91 passengers, 66 crew members, and 95 vehicles when the ferry made contact with the double-berth terminal jetty in the outer harbour of the port located on Holy Island, off Anglesey.
Stena Estrid is the lead ship of Stena RoRo's in-house-designed E-Flexer class ro-paxes, all built in China and operated by Stena Line, which runs daily on the main Ireland-Wales route.
Investigators from the MAIB have pieced together the events surrounding the incident earlier this year in which the Stena Estrid had suffered a hull puncture. This led to approximately 500 tonnes of water flooding into the engine room and an adjacent void space.
Fortunately, the ferry crew was able to respond with decisive actions, including quickly shoring up the hull below the waterline, pumping out the spaces. In addition, they transferred ballast to create a port list and raise the damage to above the waterline.
Such actions prevented a major disaster, as the Stena Estrid was able to complete berthing and disembark all passengers and unload vehicles at the terminal. Though the jetty at the Salt Island Terminal did not suffer significant damage, the incident, however, caused Holyhead Port to be closed for hours.
A port-based tugboat was at hand to help the ferry’s berthing maneuvers. Before backing in, the ferry had turned to port north of the jetty, during which a tug was made fast on the ferry’s port aft quarter.
According to the MAIB report (click links), a combination of factors was at play in causing the collision at the Holyhead Port, which apparently had experienced several ferry related incidents.
The jetty’s second terminal, Terminal 5 (T5), had remained closed since December 2025, when another “berthing incident” caused by severe weather conditions resulted in significant damages.
Click here for further coverage of the last incident from January of this year.
