The first of the class, Stena Explorer, entered service in April 1996, serving the Holyhead - Dún Laoghaire route from 1996 to 2014.

[3] On the 200-kilometre Hoek–Harwich route, the Stena HSS had cut the crossing time in half by cruising at 41 knots.

[5][6] The HSS 1500 is a semi-small-waterplane-area twin hull (SWATH) catamaran, and was designed with the aim of providing a comfortable and fast service.

[7] Power is provided by four GE Aviation gas turbines in a twin COGAG configuration.

[3] A specially designed linkspan for the Stena HSS provides ropeless mooring and allows quick loading, unloading and servicing.