Stena Line Holland BV is a subsidiary of Stena Line that operates ferry routes between Harwich and Killingholme on the east coast of England and Hook of Holland and Europort in the Netherlands. The head office is in Hook of Holland in the Netherlands. Apart from during the two world wars there has been a continuous service operating between these two countries since the late 19th century. This service was originally run by the railway companies serving the east coast of England together with Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland a Dutch ferry company. In 1990 Stena Line had purchased both parts and Stena Line Holland BV came into being. Current sailing times are around 5.5 to 8 hours for the day service and 8.5 to 9 hours for the night service.
Hook of Holland – Harwich A passenger service has operated from Harwich to Hook of Holland since the late 19th century apart from a break during the Second World War. Until 1990, the route was operated by two companies: one British and the other Dutch; but since then, Stena Line BV has been operating this route.
History of the route In the late 19th century, the Great Eastern Railway (GER), wishing to compete with its rivals who were operating from the Kent coast to France and Belgium, obtained the rights to provide a cargo and cattle service to Rotterdam. After first using chartered tonnage they carried passengers with the paddle steamer Zealous 613 gt, built in 1864 on the Thames by J & W Dudgeon. Dudgeon also supplied the 1865 built Avalon, 670 gt, which was powered by a two-cylinder oscillating engine that gave a speed of 14 knots.Ships Monthly, July 2008. Page 46
When the service first started, ships bound for Rotterdam had to negotiate the Brielle Bar to enter the river Maas with access possible only at high water. Things improved in 1872 with the opening of the New Waterway which by-passed the Brielle Bar. The Great Eastern paddle steamer, Richard Young, was the first seagoing vessel to use the direct link to the city.
In 1883, the Great Eastern Railway moved its English base from Harwich town to Parkeston Quay and in 1893 moved its Dutch operations from Rotterdam to the new rail terminus at the Hook of Holland. The first vessel to call at the "Hook" was the steamer Cambridge built in 1886 of 1,194 gt.
In 1893, the GER built the twin-screw Chelmsford to open a new night service. The new terminal in the Hook was situated on the north western end of the New Waterway and this saved two hours on the passage to Rotterdam itself. The new route enabled passengers to leave London in the evening and, after arrival in the Hook before 6 am, be in Amsterdam at breakfast time and reach Berlin by the end of the day.Ships Monthly, July 2008. Page 47
The service quickly became popular, and GER used three ships to offer night sailings each way, every day except Saturday. By 1904, the GER had ceased operations to Rotterdam. The Dutch had their own services from Flushing, which was operated by Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland (SMZ) which was created in 1875, which ran firstly to Queenborough near Sheerness and then to Folkestone.Ships Monthly, July 2008. Page 48
On 1 January 1923 after the enforced re-grouping of the railway companies, the route came under the control of the London and North Eastern Railway.
In 1926, SMZ moved its English port to Harwich providing day sailings but did not start using the Hook of Holland until after the Second World War. After both World Wars, the Hook became a major port for troop movements, these operations continuing until 1961.
Post Second World War vessels on this route included the John Brown built Arnhem (1946). On 1 January 1948, after the nationalising of the British railway network, the route came under the control of British Railways. In 1950, the Amsterdam, also built by John Brown, came into service; in 1963, the elegant Avalon was built for this route. SMZ added the motor ship the Koningin Wilhelmina in 1960.
In 1968, the two Ro-Ro passenger vessels (the British-owned St George and the Dutch-owned Koningin Juliana) came into service, the St George in July and the Koningin Juliana in October. This fully integrated service was operated from November 1968 under the Sealink banner with each ship leaving port by day and returning overnight.
In 1984, Sealink was bought by Sea Containers who continued to operate the British operations under the Sealink name. In 1989, SMZ was acquired by Stena Line and in 1990 Stena bought Sealink, thus for the first time, the Dutch and British operations were under the same ownership.
Operation under Stena BV In 1990, when Stena Line took control of the route, the Harwich to Hook of Holland service was being operated with two passenger and one freight Ro-Ro vessels. This continued until 2 June 1997, when with the introduction of the high speed ferry Stena Discovery, the two conventional ferries were taken off the route and an additional freight ferry was introduced.
Since 1996, Stena Line, in conjunction with Anglia Railways and its successors (currently Abellio Greater Anglia) in the United Kingdom and Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the Netherlands Railways, has been operating the integrated Dutchflyer service (named Go-London in the Netherlands), a rail/sea link between London and Amsterdam.
In June 2006, Stena Line announced that the high-speed catamaran ferry,Stena Discovery would be withdrawn from service on 8 January 2007. It had been carrying the majority of the passenger traffic on the Hook of Holland–Harwich route. This service was halted due to the excessive cost of operating the ship and competition from the budget airlines. Sunday Mirror Fast ferry axed The ferry consumed 180,000 litres of high grade fuel daily whilst doing its four crossings at speeds of up to 45 knots, about 75 kilometres per hour.
After the Stena Discovery was removed from service on the Hook of Holland – Harwich route, she was laid up in Belfast. In 2010 she was sold to Venezuelan interests.
To replace the Stena Discovery, Stena Line invested 100 million euro in rebuilding the existing ferries of the route. The Ro-Pax vessels were both lengthened and converted at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven so that they could carry additional passengers. Both ships are now 240 metres long, the Stena Britannica being lengthened by 28 metres and the Stena Hollandica by 52 metres. The Stena Britannica returned to service on 12 March 2007 and the Stena Hollandica on 14 May 2007.
In November 2006, Stena Line ordered two new vessels to be built at Aker Yards (now STX Europe) in Germany, to replace the Stena Britannica and Stena Hollandica. These vessels, which are now in service, are the biggest in Stena Line's fleet so far.Aker Yards To build the world's largest ferries for Stena They were delivered in May and October 2010.
Ships that have operated between Harwich and Rotterdam or Hook of Holland Ships of the Great Eastern Railway Harwich Hook of Holland 1893–2010. Published by Ferry Publications, PO Box 33, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM99 4LP. Ship'sname Enteredservice Endedservice GrossTonnage Type ofVessel Avalon 13 June 1864 1866 613 Paddle steamer Zealous 1 August 1864 1887 613 Paddle steamer Harwich 1864 October 1907 750 Paddle steamer Rotterdam 1864 1908 757 Paddle steamer Avalon 1865 Before 1906 670 Paddle steamer Ravensbury 1865 Wrecked5 March 1870 621 Paddle steamer Great Yarmouth 1866 1872 731 Single ScrewSteamer Richard Young March 1871 1890 718 Paddle Steamer Pacific 1872 1887 712 Paddle Steamer Claud Hamilton 14 August 1875 1897 962 Paddle Steamer Princess of Wales 6 July 1878 1894 1098 Paddle Steamer Lady Tyler 29 May 1880 1893 951 Paddle Steamer Adelaide 23 July 1880 1896 927 Paddle Steamer Norwich 24 July 1883 1911 1037 Twin Screw Steamer Ipswich 23 October 1883 1905 1037 Twin Screw Steamer Cambridge 12 February 1887 25 November 1912 1160 Twin Screw Steamer Colchester 27 February 1889 8 March 1916 1160 Twin Screw Steamer Chelmsford 31 May 1893 June 1910 1635 Twin Screw Steamer Berlin 10 January 1894 Wrecked21 February 1907 1745 Twin Screw Steamer Amsterdam 9 May 1894 December 1928 1745 Twin Screw Steamer Vienna 11 October 1894 23 March 1930 1753 Twin Screw Steamer Dresden 29 June 1897 20 January 1918Sunk by UC 22 1805 Twin Screw Steamer Cromer 22 April 1902 30 August 1934 812 Twin ScrewCargo Steamer Brussels 19 June 1902 23 June 1916Captured 1380 Twin Screw Steamer Yarmouth 1903 27 October 1908Lost at sea 806Twin ScrewCargo Steamer Clacton 7 February 1905 7 October 1914Requisitioned 820 Twin ScrewCargo Steamer Newmarket August 1907 8 October 1914Requisitioned 833 Twin ScrewCargo Steamer Copenhagen 27 January 1907 October 1914Requisitioned 2570 Triple ScrewSteamer Munich 16 November 1908 10 May 1940Ship Scuttled 2410 Triple ScrewSteamer St Petersburg 7 July 1910 10 December 1939Requisitioned 2448 Triple ScrewSteamer Felixstowe April 1919 10 February 1951 892 Single ScrewCargo Steamer Frinton 6 November 1919 19 July 1929 1361 Single Screw Steamer St George June 1919 16 July 1929 2676 Triple ScrewSteamer Antwerp June 1920 1 May 1950 2957 Twin Screw Steamer Bruges 27 September 1920 9 September 1940Requisitioned 2949 Twin Screw Steamer Malines 17 March 1921 10 May 1940 2969 Twin Screw Steamer
Ships of the London and North Eastern Railway and British Railways Feeder Lines, pt 1 Harwich Hook of Holland 1893–2010. Published by Ferry Publications, PO Box 33, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM99 4LP Ship's name Date entered service Date withdrawn Tonnage Type of Ship Sheringham 15 September 1926 June 1940 1088 Single Screw Steamer 23 March 1946 25 October 1958 Vienna 15 July 1929 24 August 1939 4227 Twin Screw Steamer 1 August 1945 2 July 1960 Prague 1930 1 September 1939 4220 Twin Screw Steamer 14 November 1945 24 December 1947 Amsterdam 1930 1 September 1939 4218 Twin Screw Steamer Arnhem 26 May 1947 27 April 1968 4891 Twin Screw Steamer Duke of York 31 May 1948 19 July 1963 4325 Twin Screw Steamer Amsterdam 10 June 1950 7 November 1968 5092 Twin Screw Steamer Avalon 25 July 1963 31 August 1974 6584 Twin Screw Steamer Seafreightliner I 17 May 1968 30 July 1986 4043 Twin Screw MotorContainer Ship Seafreightliner II 24 June 1968 1 August 1986 4034 Twin Screw MotorContainer Ship St George 17 July 1968 5 June 1983 7356 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship St Edmund 19 January 1975 12 May 1982 8987 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship Prins Oberon 12 March 1983 10 June 1983 7993 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship St Nicholas 10 June 1983 19 June 1991 17043 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship
Ships operated by Zeeland Steamship Company (SMZ)
Harwich Hook of Holland 1893 to 2010. Published by Ferry Publications, PO Box 33, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM99 4LP
Ship's name Date entered service Date withdrawn Tonnage Type of Ship Oranje Nassau 27 August 1945 July 1954 3053 Twin Screw Steamer Mecklenburg 21 November 1945 25 October 1959 2907 Twin Screw Steamer Koningin Emma 5 March 1948 December 1968 4353 Twin Screw Motorship Prinses Beatrix 31 May 1948 September 1968 4353 Twin Screw Motorship Koningin Wilhelmina 7 February 1960 1 July 1978 6228 Twin Screw Motorship Koningin Juliana 17 October 1968 8 April 1984 6682 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship Prinses Beatrix 29 June 1978 May 1986 9356 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship Prins Oberon 11 February 1983 11 March 1983 7993 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship Zeeland 1 April 1984 25 March 1986 6801 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship Armorique 25 March 1986 16 April 1986 5731 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship Koningin Beatrix 16 April 1986 2 June 1997 31189 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship Duchess Anne January 1989 February 1989 9796 Twin Screw Ro-Ro Motorship
Ships operated by Stena Line BV