The E-Flexer is a class of Chinese-built Ro-Pax ferries ordered by Stena RoRo for European line service.
Fifteen vessels of the class are on order, and upon delivery will be operated by Stena Line, Brittany Ferries, DFDS Seaways, Marine Atlantic, Corsica Linea and Attica Group.
Following about two years of design work, Stena ordered the first four vessels of the class from Chinese shipbuilder AVIC Weihai (now China Merchants Jinling Shipyard)[2] in April 2016, with options for four more ships.
[5][4] Stena RoRo ordered a fifth ship in April 2018, which will enter service with DFDS Seaways on a ten-year charter upon delivery.
[6] The following month, Stena RoRo ordered a sixth ship, to be placed with Brittany Ferries on a ten-year charter beginning in late 2021.
[15][16] Following bunkering in Singapore and Gibraltar, and an outside port limits call at Galle, the crew travelling from Weihai were also checked by local authorities for coronavirus infection, with no evidence of the disease being present.
[14][20] On 20 July 2021, Brittany Ferries announced that 2 more E-Flexer ships are due to enter service between 2024 and 2025, replacing Bretagne and Normandie.
She differs significantly from the other E-Flexer vessels as she has additional public spaces in areas where passenger cabins are located on the Stena Line and Brittany Ferries ships.
[21] The drastic changes from the rest of the E-Flexer class come about from the fact that she is running on the Dover-Calais cross-channel service, which is a short crossing - only taking 90 minutes from Dover to Calais.
This vessel will be slightly shorter than the standard E-Flexer at 202.9 m (665 ft 8 in) and will run on Marine Atlantic's two routes, connecting the North Sydney-Port aux Basques-Argentia triangle.
Guillaume de Normandie will follow a similar layout to the standard Brittanies, while Saint-Malo will sacrifice additional lane metres for cabin space.
The Attica Group and Stena RoRo agreed a 10-year bareboat charter scheme, including a purchase option as from the end of the 5th year of hire period.
Her design sacrifices cabins completely on Deck 8 in favour of passenger amenities, alongside being outfitted with a so-called "cow catcher" on the bow and sliding doors at the rear.
She is able to carry 1100 passengers and 2571 lane metres of vehicle space, and, like the St. Malo Brittany Ferries ships, is be capable of running on marine diesel or liquid natural gas, with hybrid electric propulsion.
This ship will be based on the same hull form as Marine Atlantic's Ala'suinu, and by extension will measure the same at 202.9 m (665 ft 8 in) long.