Stena Line ferries

Stena Line

Stena Line was founded in Gothenburg in 1962 by Sten A. Olsson, who bought the Skagenlinjen route between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn in Denmark. It grew steadily by acquisition and was one of the first ferry operators in Europe to introduce a computer-based reservation system.

The company's decisive step into British waters came in 1990, when it bought Sealink British Ferries from Sea Containers and doubled in size overnight. That brought it the Irish Sea routes and, with them, links such as Harwich–Hook of Holland, a crossing that dates back to the nineteenth century. In 1996 Stena introduced its HSS high-speed vessels, which for some years ran Holyhead–Dún Laoghaire, Belfast–Stranraer and Harwich–Hook of Holland. In December 2010 it also took over the Northern Irish operations of DFDS Seaways.

For travellers today, Stena Line is the operator behind a series of useful links: Fishguard–Rosslare, Belfast–Liverpool and Harwich–Hook of Holland.