Stena Discovery laid up in Curaçao | |
History | |
---|---|
Name |
|
Operator |
|
Port of registry |
|
Builder | Finnyards, Finland |
Cost | £65,000,000 |
Yard number | 406 |
Launched | 14 December 1996 [1] |
In service | April 1997 |
Identification | IMO number: 9107590 |
Fate | Scrapped in Aliağa, Turkey in 2015 [2] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | HSS 1500 |
Developed by | Stena Rederi AB |
Tonnage | 19,638 GT [3] |
Length | 126.6 m (415 ft 4 in) |
Beam | 40.0 m (131 ft 3 in) |
Draught | 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) |
Installed power | |
Propulsion | 4× Kamewa Type S waterjets |
Speed | 40 knots [3] |
Capacity |
|
HSS Discovery was a high-speed ferry owned by Albamar Shipping Company. It is a member of the HSS 1500 class of high-speed ferries built for and designed by Stena Line from 1996 onwards. The vessel was previously named Stena Discovery and operated for Stena Line between Harwich International Port in the United Kingdom and Hook of Holland, the Netherlands.
The HSS Discovery was constructed by Finnyards in Rauma, Finland. Construction commenced in 1996 and the vessel entered service in April 1997. [3]
The vessel was a catamaran and was designed with the aim of providing a comfortable and fast service. [4]
Power was provided by four GE Aviation gas turbines in a twin combined gas and gas (COGAG) configuration. [5] The vessel employed four Kamewa waterjets for propulsion. [6]
The HSS class of ferries were designed to allow quick turnarounds at port. A specially designed linkspan provides ropeless mooring and allows quick loading, unloading and servicing. Vehicles were loaded via two of the four stern doors and parked in a "U" configuration. When disembarking, vehicles drove straight off via the other three doors. [6]
As the Stena Discovery, the vessel operated between Harwich and Hook of Holland for Stena Line from its introduction in 1997 until January 2007 when it was taken out of service due to its high fuel consumption. The vessel was laid up at Belfast between January 2007 and September 2009, before departing for La Guaira, Venezuela under the ownership of Albamar Shipping Company. Prior to its departure from Belfast, the "Stena" prefix was removed from the vessel's name. [3] [7]
It served only briefly in Venezuela and was taken out of service again in 2009. In November 2011, it was moved to the Caribbean island of Curaçao in an attempt to attract investors for a new ferry service from Curaçao to La Guaira. [8] It was subject to a criminal investigation shortly afterwards regarding irregulatory trade of diesel from the ballast tanks. [9] She was scrapped in Aliağa, Turkey between August and November 2015. [2]
A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part and are, in the direction of flow:
Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere. It is a sister company to one of the world's leading tanker company Stena Bulk.
A pump-jet, hydrojet, or water jet is a marine system that produces a jet of water for propulsion. The mechanical arrangement may be a ducted propeller, a centrifugal pump, or a mixed flow pump which is a combination of both centrifugal and axial designs. The design also incorporates an intake to provide water to the pump and a nozzle to direct the flow of water out of the pump.
Shun Tak–China Travel Ship Management Limited, doing business as TurboJET, is a ferry company based in Hong Kong. The company was established from the joint venture between Shun Tak Holdings and China Travel International Investment Hong Kong in July 1999. It operates hydrofoil and high-speed ferry services between Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai in the Pearl River Delta area.
Harwich International railway station is a railway station on the Mayflower Line, a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line, the station serves Harwich International Port in Essex, England. It is 68 miles 72 chains (110.88 km) from London Liverpool Street, between Wrabness to the west and Dovercourt to the east. Its three-letter station code, HPQ, derives from its original name, Harwich Parkeston Quay.
High-speed Sea Service or Stena HSS was a class of high-speed craft developed by and originally operated by Stena Line on European international ferry routes. The HSS 1500 had an in-service speed of 40 knots (75 km/h).
A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popular. Most high-speed craft serve as passenger ferries, but the largest catamarans and monohulls also carry cars, buses, large trucks and freight.
Harwich International Port is a North Sea seaport in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports. It lies on the south bank of the River Stour one mile upstream from the town of Harwich, opposite the Port of Felixstowe. The port was formerly known as Parkeston Quay.
Stena Line Holland BV is a subsidiary of Stena Line that operates ferry routes between Harwich and Killingholme on the east coast of England and Hook of Holland and Europort in the Netherlands. The head office is in Hook of Holland in the Netherlands. Apart from during the two world wars there has been a continuous service operating between these two countries, initially by the railway companies serving the east coast of England together with Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland a Dutch ferry company. In 1990 Stena Line had purchased both parts and Stena Line Holland BV came into being.
MS Stena Europe is a ferry owned by Stena Line which operates between Algeciras and Tanger Med; under charter to Africa Morocco Link.
Benchijigua Express is a fast ferry, operated by Fred. Olsen Express between the Canary Islands, Tenerife, La Gomera and La Palma in the Atlantic Ocean. She was delivered in April 2005. At 127 metres (417 ft) long, the ferry is the second-longest trimaran in the world, less than a metre shy of the Independence class littoral combat ship, which was based on Benchijigua Express's design. Her body is made of aluminium with a special offshore coating, and is the second-largest vessel with an aluminium hull. The ship's name, derived from the village of Benchijigua on La Gomera where Fredrik Olsen had property, was previously used twice since 1999.
GNV Blu is a roll-on/roll-off ferry currently operated by Grandi Navi Veloci. She used to be owned by Stena Line and operated on the Karlskrona–Gdynia service. She was built in 1986 by Van der Giessen de Noord as MS Koningin Beatrix for SMZ. In 1989 she passed under Stena Line's ownership and in 2002 was renamed Stena Baltica. In 2013 she was sold to SNAV. On 23 October 2014, SNAV leased the ship to Panamanian company Ferry Xpress Panama to start operations on the Colon – Cartagena – Colon and Colon – Bocas del Toro – Colon routes. Since 2015 the vessel is operated by Trasmediterránea, and is currently used by Grandi Navi Veloci to serve the Bari–Durrës route.
One World Karadeniz is a former high-speed ferry that operated on Stena Line's Holyhead–Dún Laoghaire service between Great Britain and Ireland until 2014. It is a member of the HSS 1500 class of high-speed ferries introduced and developed by Stena Line from 1996 onwards. The HSS 1500-class vessels became the largest catamarans in service in the world.
Port Link is a ro-pax ferry that was formerly operated by Sealink and Stena Line between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire and later Stranraer and Larne / Belfast. Now it is used by ASDP Indonesia Ferry for Merak to Bakauheni line.
Stena Voyager was a high-speed ferry owned by Stena Line which used to operate on their Belfast–Stranraer service. It was the second of three HSS 1500 class of high-speed ferries developed and introduced by Stena Line from 1996 onwards. The others were Stena Explorer and Stena Discovery.
HSS 1500 was the name of a model of Stena HSS craft developed and originally operated by Stena Line on European international ferry routes. The vessels were the largest high-speed craft in the world. Several design patents were registered to Stena Line in the development of the HSS.
The General Electric LM1600 is an industrial and marine gas turbine produced by GE Aviation. The LM1600 is a derivative of the General Electric F404 aircraft engine series. The LM1600 delivers 20,000 shaft horsepower (shp) (14,920 kW) with a thermal efficiency of 37 percent at ISO conditions.
Stena Germanica is a large cruiseferry operated by Stena Line between Gothenburg and Kiel, together with MS Stena Scandinavica (2002). Between 2001 and 2010, as Stena Hollandica she operated on the Harwich to Hook of Holland service.
Stena Britannica, launched in 2009, is the second of two identical Ropax cruiseferries built by Wadan Yards in Warnemünde and nearby Wismar, Germany for Stena Line. The first of the two ships, launched in January 2010, was Stena Hollandica. Both ships operate across the southern North Sea between Harwich in Essex, England, and Hook of Holland, Netherlands, providing a twice daily service. The ships were specifically designed for this route.
Stena Hollandica, launched in January 2010, is the first of two identical Ropax ferries built by Wadan Yards in Warnemünde and nearby Wismar, Germany for Stena Line. The second of the two ships, launched towards the end of 2010, is Stena Britannica. Both ships operate (2012) across the southern North Sea between Harwich and Hook of Holland providing a twice daily service from each side. The ships were specifically designed for this route.
Each semi-swath fast ferry used two LM1600 and two LM2500 gas turbines in a COmbined Gas and Gas (COGAG) turbine configuration.