History

Sten Allan Olsson was the son of Skipper and ship owner from Donsö, an island in the Southern Gothenburg archipelago. In 1946 he bought his first vessel, calling it Dan (after his first son) and the shipping business started on a small scale.

Stena Line was founded in Göteborg, with its first route running between Sweden and Denmark. The first ticket booth was introduced at Stenpiren, Göteborg, close to where Stena Line has its headquarters today. The low food prices in Denmark and the duty-free shopping onboard combined with the low fares was a fantastic recipe for success.

Only five years later, we launched our first route to Germany, Kiel, making us a substantial player within the European ferry business.

In 1972, Stena Line was one of the first ferry operators in Europe to introduce a computer-based reservation system for the travel business area. In the same year, the Masthugg terminal in Göteborg was completed and freight services became a central part of the business.

With the expansion and acquisitions in the Netherlands, UK, and Poland from 1989 to 1995, Stena Line reached a major milestone. The acquisition of the British ferry operator Sealink British Ferries and several Dutch companies doubled Stena Line’s size and made it into one of the largest shipping companies in the world.

In 1990 we connected our first vessels to shore power in the Port of Göteborg for Stena Germanica (II) and Stena Scandinavica (III). By connecting a vessel to the local electrical grid when in port, we reduce the CO2 emissions. This is one example of how we care for resources.

We introduced the world’s first high-speed ferry, built of aluminum, making maritime history. Stena Explorer was the first in a series of so-called HSS 1500 ferries (High-speed Sea Service). The HSS 1500 was an important step in our preparations for the changing travel patterns related to the phase-out of duty-free sales.

In 2005, all Scandinavian routes in Stena Line were certified according to ISO 14001, an international standard for environmental management systems and a tool for the company to improve in the sustainability field.

We broke the world record again! In 2010, we launched the world’s biggest RoPax vessels. Our two brand new Superferries Stena Hollandica and Stena Britannica started operating on the North Sea.

Stena Line acquired five new ferry routes between Sweden and Germany to Latvia, expanding into the Baltics. The expansion into the Baltics is increasing not only our presence but also expanding our offering for both freight and passengers. Apart from the purchase of the three routes between Germany and the Baltic States, Stena Line also acquired the vessel “Sassnitz” and the operations on the routes from Trelleborg to Rostock and Sassnitz.

We are the first in the world again! This time, Stena Germanica was the world’s first RoPax vessel converted to run on both diesel and methanol. Methanol reduces sulphur and particles to zero and lowers NOx substantially.

Between 2020 – 2022, we welcomed five new E-flexer ferries into our fleet with Stena Estrid, Edda and Embla operating in the Irish Sea, followed by the launch of Stena Ebba and Estelle on the Karlskrona–Gdynia route. The introduction of these vessels provided a significant boost in capacity, as well as improving our customer experience onboard and operational efficiency. Our E-Flexer ferries are among the most advanced and energy-efficient vessels in operation, and Stena Line is proud to continue to shape the industry for the next generation of freight and travel customers.

Two all-new hybrid propulsion vessels are due to join our fleet on the Irish Sea in Autumn 2025, running on the Belfast – Heysham route. They will boost freight capacity by 40%, are designed to run on methanol fuel and are future proofed for electrification. The introduction of these new vessels shows our commitment to fulfilling our strategic ambition of shifting to renewable fuels and cutting 30% of CO2 emissions by 2030.