The sight of Stena Line’s HSS ‘Stena Voyager’ being towed stern first out of Belfast Lough on Sunday, May 5, was somewhat sobering; the futuristic craft, and indeed the travel service concept that helped to revolutionise the look of the ferry industry, bound for the recycler’s torch after just 15 years of commercial service between Belfast and Stranraer.
To be towed backwards along much of her old route was an ignominious way for her to leave on her last voyage, even being passed by two of the United Kingdom’s dwindling number of fast ferries, the Incat-built 'Manannan' and 'Express', operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co and P&O Ferries respectively.
The ‘Stena Voyager’ was introduced in 1996, the second in the Stena Teknik-designed HSS 1500 class. Since her first sailing she has carried over 17 million passengers and made over 45,000 sailings between Northern Ireland and Scotland. With a service speed of 40 knots, a high quality onboard travel experience for 1,500 passengers and her capacity of 375 vehicles, the HSS was an instant hit with customers.
The HSS (High Speed Sea-service) was a unique and highly innovative development for Stena Line and took much of its technology from the world of aviation. The smaller of the two different types of gas turbines onboard are used in the Swedish Airforce's fighter, attack and reconnaissance aircraft, the Saab Gripen, while the larger of the two types is used in the long-haul Boeing 747 aircraft.
The turbines came with many benefits; they produced cleaner exhaust fumes than conventional diesel engines, required less space, weighed less and provided a high level of operational reliability. However, they are also incredibly thirsty engines and the spiraling costs of operating the ‘Stena Voyager’ became too high. When the craft was first put into service fuel was approximately USD18 per barrel. Now the price is around USD110 per barrel, and for a fuel hungry vessel this is simply untenable.
Also unique was a docking technique to speed loading and unloading, as well as a system for storing supplies, enabling her to be turned around, re-stored and re-fuelled in just 30 minutes. The shoreside linkspan for the HSS was a completely new design, including a quick coupling with fuel, fresh water and waste water pipes.
Michael McGrath, Stena Line’s Chief Operating Officer, commented "We live in different times now and we have to invest in more fuel efficient services for our freight and travel passengers. As a result we have now introduced two Superfast ferries on the service between Northern Ireland and Scotland and we have constructed new ports in both Cairnryan and Belfast to give our freight and travel customers one of the best ferry experiences on the Irish Sea."
The ‘Stena Voyager’ has been towed to the Öresundsvarvet shipyard in Landskrona, Sweden, where she will be recycled by Stena Line's sister company, Stena Recycling. All of the craft's various components will be recycled, as far as is possible, helping the company to maintain its environmentally responsible reputation.
"Recycling the ‘Stena Voyager’ is a unique and interesting project. There are many different types of material to recycle, and this will be done in several stages. The project requires highly experienced personnel and efficient recycling processes, which we possess," said Staffan Persson, MD, Stena Recycling.
"Recycling the large quantities of aluminium in the ‘Stena Voyager’ will save up to 150 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide and the metal can be reused in the form of car parts or furniture for example."
The scrapping of the ‘Stena Voyager’ leaves her sister, ‘Stena Explorer’ in service on the Holyhead – Dun Laoghaire Irish Sea crossing. When I worked with the craft in 1996 she operated up to five round trips a day; most sailings being full of duty free-hungry day trippers travelling for a bargain. The loss of duty free sales within member states of the EU put paid to that trade and gradually her sailings have been reduced to her current level of service – one round trip per day on a seasonal basis. Without doubt, the ‘Stena Explorer’ will not be long for this world either.
A third sister, the North Sea’s 'Stena Discovery', was sold in September 2009, departing for La Guairá, Venezuela under the ownership of Albamar Shipping Company. In November 2011 she was moved to the Caribbean island of Curacao in an attempt to attract investors for a new ferry service from Curacao to La Guairá. She was subject to a criminal investigation shortly afterwards regarding the illegal trade of diesel. The ‘HSS Discovery’ remains laid up in Curacao's Caracas Bay having never carried a fare paying passenger since leaving the UK.
There are now just seven high speed car ferries sailing for four operators to and from UK ports – a far cry from the heady days of the mid 1990s when ferry companies were clamoring to “have one”. Those days are long gone and while a niche remains for large vehicle-carrying fast ferries, it is a very small one.
Having said that, English Channel operator Condor Ferries, a company built on fast ferry operations, has told the BBC that it cannot afford to replace its Incat-built fast ferry fleet while operating its current year-round schedule. It operates services between the Channel Islands and the UK and France.
Chief executive James Fulford said "times were hard" with fuel costs having doubled and the company having to spend £10 million (USD15.5 million) on just servicing its three high speed vessels, the 86 metre Wave Piercers 'Condor Express', 'Condor Vitesse' and 'Condor Rapide'. He said a purpose-built vessel would cost £70 million (USD108 million) and the firm has approached island governments for help.
Mr Fulford said this involved seeing "if there is a way that meets islanders needs but allows Condor or any ferry company to be able to invest in new vessels". The company is the only one licensed to operate the route between the Channel Islands and the UK, with its licence valid until 2018. The licence agreement includes delivering a minimum standard of service. Mr Fulford said the company was simply not making enough money to pay for new vessels on its own.
On a more positive note, in the United States Lake Michigan operator Lake Express has just celebrated its 10-year anniversary sailing with the first run of 2013. “Nobody ever thought we could do it,” said Lake Express President Ken Szallai.
The Austal USA-built fast ferry 'Lake Express' has sailed back and forth across Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Muskegon, Michigan, two to three times a day between May and October for 10 years, carrying more than one million passengers and putting enough miles on the craft to go to the moon and back, Szallai said.
“I remember the maiden voyage with all of the excitement of the officials from both communities,” Szallai recalls. “People are still getting excited to get on the ship 10 years later. That first season, a man came up to me and shook my hand and told me how happy he was to have the service. We still get that kind of response from our customers all of the time.”
Szallai and Lake Express owners look back on the past 10 years and say they would make the same investment again. However, much of what happened in the last decade was not part of the original Lake Express business plan. So much was unforeseen, Szallai said.
Fuel costs sky rocketed, which gave passengers wanting to cut the trip through Chicago to get from Michigan to Wisconsin an incentive, but it also exploded the diesel fuel costs of the ferry. Lake Express also had to survive the Great Recession and overcome a dozen other obstacles.
“That’s business … it is what you do to adapt or die,” Szallai said, not missing a chance to take a shot at the competitor Lake Michigan Carferry of Ludington. “The “Badger” folks have been saying every year we were dying. But we are still here.”
Obviously one of those niche markets in which high speed vehicle ferries still have a role to play.