Stena Discovery arrives in Venezuela

Although Stena Line has still to confirm its sale, the Swedish ferry operators’ HSS 1500 design fast passenger/vehicle ferry Stena Discovery has arrived in Venezuela to start operations for her new owners, travel and tourism company Albamar. Sistership Stena Explorer is also expected to follow to South America later this year.

Albamar will use both HSS 1500s on a service linking the port of Caracas, La Guaira, with the port of El Guamache, on the holiday island of Margarita. The 1997-built Stena Discovery and her sister can carry 1,500 passengers and 375 cars at a service speed of 42 knots. The vessels had become uneconomic to operate of late due to the fact that they are powered by Kvaerner-GE gas turbines and have high fuel consumption. This is now a problem in Venezuela, which is one of the world’s largest oil producers and marine fuel locally is a lot cheaper than elsewhere in the world.

Stena Discovery had been laid-up in Belfast, Northern Ireland since being withdrawn from the Harwich (UK) – Hook of Holland (The Netherlands) service in early 2007. Stena Explorer is one of two HSS 1500s that operate on Stena’s Irish Sea services and is expected to arrive in South America in early September. That will leave only one of the revolutionary HSS 1500 design still in service in Europe, Stena Voyager on the Irish Sea.   Sphere: Related Content