Stena Line
Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere. History. Formation. Stena Line was founded in 1962 by Sten A. Olsson in Gothenburg, Sweden, which still serves as the company's headquarters, when he acquired Skagenlinjen between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn, Denmark. In 1972, Stena Line was one of the first ferry operators in Europe to introduce a computer -based reservation system for the travel business area. In 1978, the freight business area also started operating a computer-based reservation system. Freight. The first freight-focused route started between Gothenburg, Sweden, and Kiel, Germany. The ship was the MS "Stena Transporter". North Sea. During the 1980s, Stena acquired three other ferry companies. Irish Sea. In 1990 Stena Line doubled in size with the acquisition of Sealink British Ferries from Sea Containers. This first became Sealink Stena Line, then Stena Sealink Line and finally Stena Line (UK), which now operates all of Stena's ferry services between Great Britain and  Ireland. In 1996, Stena Line introduced its 20,000 tonne HSS (High-speed Sea Service) vessels, which operated: Belfast-Stranraer; Holyhead-Dún Laoghaire and Hook of Holland-Harwich. In addition to the three 1,500-passenger HSS vessels, Stena Line ordered two smaller 900-passenger HSS vessels to operate on the Gothenburg–Frederikshavn route. Due to the bankruptcy of the shipyard, only the first of these vessels was ever completed. English channel. In 1998, Stena's operations from Dover and Newhaven were merged with P&O European Ferries to form P&O Stena Line, 40% of which was owned by Stena and 60% by  P&O. In 2002, P&O acquired all of Stena's shares in the company, thus becoming the sole owner of P&O Stena Line, which soon changed its name to P&O Ferries. Further expansion. In 2000, Stena Line purchased yet another Scandinavian ferry operator: Scandlines AB. In November 2006, Stena ordered a pair of "super ferries" with a gross tonnage of 62,000 from Aker Yards, Germany for delivery in 2010, with an option for two more ships of the same design. The new ferries will be amongst the largest in the world, to be operated on Stena's North Sea route from  Hook of Holland to Harwich. The existing ships from the North Sea were to be moved to the Kiel–Gothenborg route, whereas the ships from Kiel would transfer to the Gdynia to Karlskrona route. The new ferries were launched in 2010, with "Stena Hollandica" entering service on 16 May 2010, and "Stena Britannica" planned to enter service in the autumn of 2010. Fleet. Future fleet. Stena has five vessels of the E-Flexer class on order, with the first scheduled for delivery in early 2020. The first ship of the new series was named "Stena Estrid". After her trials, she  has commenced service on 13 January 2020, on the route Dublin - Holyhead.