STENA ESTRID

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Man died in hospital after falling overboard

A man has died in hospital after he was airlifted from the water following an incident on the 'Stena Estrid'on Jan 20, 2024. The ship was sailing from Belfast to Birkenhead during the early hours of the morning when there were reports of a missing man. Emergency services were called including Merseyside Police, HM Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. It was believed a person had fallen overboard, and a search was carried out shortly after 8 a.m. The man was airlifted out of the water and taken to hospital at around 11 a.m. Thr Merseyside Police confirmed a 44-year-old man, from North Wales, has died in hospital following the incident. Enquiries have been carried out but the death is not being treated as suspicious and a file has been prepared for the coroner. The man's next of kin have been informed.

Passenger went missing

A major search operation was launched off the Wexford coast, after a man ws suspected of going overboard from the 'Stena Estrid' on April 4, 2022, between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. en route to Rosslare Europort from Cherbourg. The alarm was raised by the missing man’s colleagues, who were travelling with him. All 206 passengers and 57 crew members on board were detained at the port as a full headcount was carried out, but following the discovery of the man’s personal belongings management on board the ship came to the conclusion that the most likely scenario was that he had gone overboard and they notified emergency services. The Rosslare and Kilmore Quay lifeboats were mobilised shortly before 11 a.m. and have been following the path the ship took before docking at Rosslare. The Coast Guard Rescue 117 helicopter has also been carrying out sweeps along the coast. RNLI volunteers continued the search off the coast of Tuskar Rock, but with every passing hour, the chances of the man being successfully recovered decreased. The Coast Guard and Gardaí have been notified and were assisting the crew.

Leaking windows replaced

Repairs had to be carried out on the 'Stena Estrid' before she set sail on her maiden voyage on Jan 13, after leaks were found on more than 20 windows. The leaks were found after it arrived at Holyhead port following a 10,000 sail from the AVIC Weihai Shipyard in China, where it was built. Stena Line said the seals had to be replaced on between 20 and 30 windows at the end of last week. It was a glitch that they decided to deal with at port while it was awaiting its clearance to sail from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The windows were weeping, and though it was not a ship stopping problem it was decided to get the work done.