STENA Line is hoping to introduce two new conventional ferries as back-up for the high-speed Stena Discovery on the Harwich-Hook of Holland route next year.
Stena Discovery – the only passenger link between the ports – halved the time of crossings, but has experienced a series of problems that meant 260 sailings out of 1,450 were lost in 1998.
In January 1998 the ship had to be withdrawn because of damage caused by rough seas. Further technical difficulties followed in August and again in September and October .
The new ships will provide an overnight service and replace Stena Discovery if it suffers further problems. A Stena Line spokesman said: “The ships, if we get them, will not be available until the middle of next year.
“There have been a few problems with Stena Discovery. We want the ships to provide back-up as well as increasing capacity and also because some people still do like making overnight crossings which isn’t necessary with the fast ferry.”
n Stena Line has relaunched its London to Amsterdam high-speed ferry service via Harwich-Hook of Holland to compete with Eurostar. Formerly known as Rail and Sail, the service is to become the HSS Express service. Prices start at ú49 for a three-day apex return fare.