Stena Line Buoyant With New Routes Clearance

DUN LAOGHAIRE, Ireland, July 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

Stena Line has expressed its delight at the announcement that its
acquisition of the DFDS routes from Belfast to Liverpool (Birkenhead) and
Belfast to Heysham has been fully approved by the Competition Commission.

The acquisition, which amounts to approximately GBP40M investment, will
enable Stena Line [http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry ] to improve its service
on the Irish Sea by offering several different alternatives for
transportation between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and will improve
service and frequency for passengers and freight.

Irish Sea Area Director Michael McGrath said: “We are naturally
delighted to have been given the green light by the UK Competition
Commission and will now engage in a process of evaluation and integration in
terms of the wider Stena Line business. We have always believed that the
DFDS acquisition would make a perfect fit for our business and our customers
and we are looking forward to implementing our extended route network on the
Irish Sea. We believe that the acquisition also strengthens Belfast as a key
transport hub within our route network for both freight and tourism
traffic.”

As part of the deal Stena Line will also acquire four ships from DFDS
which will include the chartered Lagan Seaways and Mersey Seaways on the
Belfast-Liverpool route and the freight carriers Scotia Seaways and Hibernia
Seaways. This will bring the number of Stena Line routes on the Irish Sea to
six, adding to the existing Stranraer-Belfast, Holyhead-Dublin, Holyhead-Dun
Laoghaire and Fishguard-Rosslare ferry routes
[http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/routes ].

About Stena Line:

Stena Line is the market leader on the Irish Sea, offering the biggest
fleet and the widest choice of routes between Britain and Ireland, including
the Stranraer to Belfast, Holyhead to Dublin Port, Holyhead to Dun
Laoghaire, Fishguard to Rosslare and the two new routes recently acquired
from DFDS namely Liverpool to Belfast and Heysham to Belfast. The company
carries over two million passengers on its Irish Sea routes each year, more
than its rival ferry operators combined.

        PR Contact:
        Eamonn Hewitt
        Communications and PR Manager Irish Sea
        Stena Line
        The Ferry Terminal
        Dun Laoghaire
        Co. Dublin
        +353-1-2047617

http://www.stenaline.co.uk

SOURCE Stena Line