Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferries has acquired the ferry from Stena Line, which as of August this year will sail over the Cook Strait in New Zealand instead between Liepāja and Travemünde.

The 2008-built ro-pax, offering room for 800 passengers and 2,255 lane metres for vehicles, will join her sister ship Connemara, which has been working for Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferries since 2007.

Before her departure, Stena Livia will get a new name, plus visit a European shipyard for a revamp.

Once in the Southern Hemisphere, she'll replace Strait Feronia (in Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferries' service since 1997).

"We are familiar with this vessel type and know that it suits the Cook Strait traffic well. When we were looking for a new ship a few months ago, we wanted to offer more cargo and passenger capacity and Stena Livia provides both," Shane McMahon, CEO, Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferries, told Transporttalk.

Source: Sjöfartstidningen

Photo: Wikimedia Commons